in a heartbeat
49
3.2
- idiom
- Informal
- I'd do it in a heartbeat.
- buy in a heartbeat
- go in a heartbeat
- take in a heartbeat
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Watch on YouTubeI would like, I would do that in a heartbeat, right?
- I would like, I would do that in a heartbeat, right?
- He says whoever you're planning to vote for would have gone on his show in a heartbeat, but he didn't want them.
- Are the things that they are unwilling to do things that you would do in a heartbeat for someone you loved that much?
- I've not met a single world leader who wouldn't trade places and problems with us in a heartbeat.
- And I would because of that feeling, I would do this process again in a heartbeat.
- They're just pro people who are leftist that promote their agenda and they can turn on people that were their former allies in a heartbeat.
- If you're ever on that mountain, it's like best to be careful because you can get whited out up there in a heartbeat.
- They can change it in a heartbeat because they can tell a part of the story and get a reaction that tells them, OK, I need to make a shift.
- But what I could do in a heartbeat is now, oh, I see a situation.
- And you know, in the world we live in, you know, people jump on negative A in a heartbeat.
Examples
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I know this is a small group with us right now, but in a heartbeat, I could call and probably have 15 people here that were all our Blockbuster extended family.
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I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
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I can get that kind of money in a heartbeat.
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- We'll be there in a heartbeat, baby.
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The cops were there in a heartbeat.
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If I had the chance, I'd take it in a heartbeat.
Fiction book (2001) -
She'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.
Fiction book (1999) -
JAKE: But the thing about happiness... it can vanish in a heartbeat.
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I'd take those odds in a heartbeat and think it's closer to 50:50.
Blog text (3) -
I would move to Paris in a heartbeat if I had the chance.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
At once without waiting
915
1.0
Without any delay
310
1.0
Right away without any delay
237
1.0
Immediately without delay
58
6.5
Right away without waiting
48
5.6
Very quickly, without delay
32
2.5
Very quickly in a single moment
25
5.6
Happen at once without delay
24
3.3
Very quickly, in almost no time
22
3.2
Without delay after something happens
19
3.5
Very quickly without delay
14
3.0
Immediately without delay
14
1.0
Do something at once without delay
13
4.2
Immediately and without delay
4
7.4
As quickly as possible
4
5.5
To act immediately and confidently without pausing
3
6.0
Very quickly and without hesitation
2
3.0
It happens very quickly with little effort
2
6.6
Immediately without any delay
Antonyms
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally compositionally means 'within the time of a single heartbeat' and so a learner who knows 'in' and 'heartbeat' can infer it denotes a very short time — immediately or without delay. This temporal metaphor is simple and predictable from the constituents, making it readily comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows the words.
Etymology
The adverb in a heartbeat comes from the image of something happening in the time of a single heartbeat. So, it means 'immediately' or 'without hesitation'.