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.
A cardiac surgeon near her home in Orange County, Calif., recommended surgery and warned that the recovery would be long.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
Acute conditions, such as sepsis and cardiac arrest, account for more.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Hollie Page, a cardiac physiologist at Bart's Hospital, happened to pass him as he lay on the concourse of Liverpool Street station.
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
It’s been anything but a happy year for trainer Mark Glatt, whose wife of 25 years, Dena, died Feb. 12 from cardiac arrest at 57.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026
"Could you get a nurse? My chest feels very...tight. I think I'm going into cardiac arrest."
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
