cardiac
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the heart.
cardiac disease.
-
of or relating to the esophageal portion of the stomach.
noun
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Medicine/Medical. a cardiac remedy.
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a person with heart disease.
adjective
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of or relating to the heart
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of or relating to the portion of the stomach connected to the oesophagus
noun
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a person with a heart disorder
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obsolete a drug that stimulates the heart muscle
Other Word Forms
- postcardiac adjective
- precardiac adjective
Etymology
Origin of cardiac
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English or directly from Middle French cardiaque, from Latin cardiacus, from Greek kardiakós, equivalent to kardí(a) heart + -akos -ac
Explanation
Cardiac describes anything that's connected or related to the heart. During a cardiac exam, a doctor listens to your heartbeat and takes your pulse. The adjective cardiac is most often used in a medical context: a doctor who operates on people's hearts is a cardiac surgeon, and an irregular heart beat is called "cardiac arrhythmia." It's common for both medical and non-medical people to call a heart attack "cardiac arrest." The word comes from the French cardiaque, which is rooted in the Greek kardiakos, "pertaining to the heart," from kardia, "heart."
Vocabulary lists containing cardiac
Body Language: Cor, Cord, Cardio ("Heart")
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
According to NHS England, fewer than one in 10 people who have a cardiac arrest outside hospital survive.
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
The "emergency air bridge" to the UK allowed seriously ill or injured patients to be transferred quickly to specialist centres there, including major trauma and cardiac hospitals, he added.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
Harnessing happenstance has led to inventions that have changed the world—from extending the lives of cardiac patients to overhauling how humans eat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
That morning, she was in full cardiac arrest.
From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026
Chance of cardiac arrest; be better, he reflected, if I lived in town where those buildings have a doctor standing by with those electro-spark machines.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
