by heart en · ADP
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English by herte. Compare French par cœur (literally “by heart”), of which the English may be a calque.
Meanings
-
From unaided memory and in full detail.
to know something by heart
Two weeks into the investigation, Jo-Anne’s grandmother, Mary Riley, received a call at her home. When Mary picked up the phone, a heavy male voice said, “Listen to this.” It was followed by the sounds of a young child sobbing hysterically into the receiver. Mary firmly believed this voice belonged to her granddaughter, then the line went dead. This detail alarmed investigators because Mary’s home phone number was unlisted and Jo-Anne was one of the very few people who might have known the private number by heart.
2026 July 25, Nicholas Muhoro, “The Last Call of Jo-Anne Pedersen, the Girl Who Vanished From a Payphone”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 26 Jul 2026:He used to live in that town, and he still knows all the streets by heart.
to learn something by heart
You should play over all the pieces you know by heart at least once a month or oftener with the printed copies before you: or all sorts of wrong notes may creep in, and you will be leaving out some crescendo, or rallentando, or sforzato.
1906, The Monthly Musical Record, volume 36, page 55:None of the other animals on the farm could get further than the letter A. It was also found that the stupider animals, such as the sheep, hens, and ducks, were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart.
1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| off by heart | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Hyponyms
Relateds
Translations (75)
ru назубо́к (Translations) · fr de mémoire (Translations) · hu kívülről (Translations) · dlm inamiant (Translations) · dsb z głowy (Translations) · nn utanåt (Translations) · tr ezberden (Translations) · fo uttanat (Translations) · az hafizədən (Translations) · es de memoria (Translations) · hy անգիր (Translations) · eo parkere (Translations) · cs zpaměti (Translations) · fi ulkoa (Translations) · az döşdən (Translations) · fr par cœur (Translations) · et peast (Translations) · nn utanboks (Translations) · de auswendig (Translations) · ro pe dinafară (Translations) · cs nazpaměť (Translations) · he בְּעַל פֶּה (Translations) · sv utantill (Translations) · it a memoria (Translations) · hu betéve (Translations) · pt na ponta da língua (Translations) · tr ezbere (Translations) · ca de memòria (Translations) · es de cabeza (Translations) · bg наизу́ст (Translations) · ko 암기하다 (Translations) · az əzbərdən (Translations) · cmn 靠記憶 /靠记忆 (Translations) · mk наизуст (Translations) · fa از بر (Translations) · sk naspamäť (Translations) · fa از حفظ (Translations) · br dindan eñvor (Translations) · ru наизу́сть (Translations) · pt de cor (Translations) · nb utenat (Translations) · pt de cabeça (Translations) · gd air teangaidh (Translations) · la memoriter (Translations) · kmr ji ber (Translations) · sh napamet (Translations) · az əzbər (Translations) · br dre eñvor (Translations) · is utan að (Translations) · uk на па́м'ять (Translations) · lt mintinai (Translations) · el απέξω (Translations) · da udenad (Translations) · sk spamäti (Translations) · mk напамет (Translations) · io memore (Translations) · be напа́мяць (Translations) · ro pe de rost (Translations) · nl uit het hoofd (Translations) · fr de tête (Translations) · nl van buiten (Translations) · ru на па́мять (Translations) · nrf par tchoeu (Translations) · pl na pamięć (Translations) · hsb z pomjatka (Translations) · hu fejből (Translations) · ja 空で (Translations) · et pähe (Translations) · kmr ezber (Translations) · pt de memória (Translations) · ca de cor (Translations) · ka ზეპირად (Translations) · ar عَنْ ظَهْرِ ٱلْقَلْبِ (Translations) · hsb z hłowy (Translations) · ja 暗記して (Translations)