to sing one's heart out
- idiom
- Informal
- I was just singing my heart out up there.
- still singing my heart out
Examples
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Get into the experience of what you're singing about and sing your heart out.
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She's singing her heart out.
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You just go out there and sing your heart out, you hear?
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I want you to sing your heart out.
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I sing my heart out every day.
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I'm gonna get up on that stage and I'm gonna sing my heart out.
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Vicki kept on singing her heart out.
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He sang his heart out.
Fiction book (2002) -
The choirs sang their hearts out, the organs moaned, the pent-up fury had to be released!
Fiction book (1994) -
At the concert, she decided to sing her heart out and enjoy every moment.
Synonyms
To sing or play music loudly with a lot of energy
Make a very loud, strong sound with your voice and much feeling
To sing very loudly and happily
How Enthusiastic
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'sing' plus 'heart' (metaphor for emotions) and 'out' (indicating full extent) combine to convey singing with strong passion or intensity; a learner who knows these senses can plausibly infer the general meaning. However, the phrase relies on a metaphorical use of 'heart' and an intensifying particle 'out' whose compositional effect is not strictly literal, so the sense is partly but not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Sing one's heart out creates the picture of someone singing so fully that their 'heart' seems to pour out with sound and feeling. So, it means 'to sing with strong feeling and energy'.