pacemaker

C2 Topic:Health & Medicine

US /ˈpeɪsˌmeɪkər/ UK /ˈpeɪsˌmeɪkə/ See IPA manual

Freq #22183

Meanings

1

noun
a small implanted electronic device that regulates an abnormal heartbeat

Surgeons fitted him with a pacemaker to keep his heart rhythm steady.
2

noun
the specialized cells that naturally initiate and regulate the heartbeat, especially the sinoatrial node

Damage to the heart's natural pacemaker can produce an irregular rhythm.
3

noun
a person or animal that sets the pace in a race, or a leading example that others follow

The experienced runner served as pacemaker for the first half of the race.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a small implanted... cardiac pacemakerheart pacemaker

2 noun · the specialized cells that... sinoatrial nodecardiac pacemaker

3 noun · a person or animal that... pacesetterpacerpace-setter

Word family

Derived forms pacemakingbiopacemaker

Related forms heartbeat implantarrhythmiapace-setter

Common collocations

cardiac pacemaker Adjective + noun

Etymology

A compound of pace + maker. It first named a competitor who sets a race's pace; biology then applied the image to cells that set the heart's rhythm, and medicine to an electronic device that performs the same function.

Topics

Health & Medicine

External links

# pacemaker

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpeɪsˌmeɪkər/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpeɪsˌmeɪkə/
**Frequency rank:** 22183

## Meanings
1. a small implanted electronic device that regulates an abnormal heartbeat
2. the specialized cells that naturally initiate and regulate the heartbeat, especially the sinoatrial node
3. a person or animal that sets the pace in a race, or a leading example that others follow

## Examples
- Surgeons fitted him with a pacemaker to keep his heart rhythm steady.
- Damage to the heart's natural pacemaker can produce an irregular rhythm.
- The experienced runner served as pacemaker for the first half of the race.

## Synonyms
- cardiac pacemaker
- heart pacemaker
- sinoatrial node
- pacesetter
- pacer

## Derived Forms
- pacemaking
- biopacemaker

## Related Forms
- heartbeat
- implant
- arrhythmia
- pace-setter

## Etymology
A compound of pace + maker. It first named a competitor who sets a race's pace; biology then applied the image to cells that set the heart's rhythm, and medicine to an electronic device that performs the same function.

## Topics
- Health & Medicine

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