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to sing one's heart out

to sing one's heart out

4 4.8
To sing with great feeling and energy
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : cantar con todas las fuerzas
  • I was just singing my heart out up there.
  • still singing my heart out

Examples

Synonyms

to belt out
vsto sing one's heart out
  • Informal
9 3.7

To sing or play music loudly with a lot of energy

expresses intense enthusiasm rather than just loudness
to sing to the tonsils
vsto sing one's heart out
  • Informal
9.7

Make a very loud, strong sound with your voice and much feeling

is more about passionate energy regardless of voice quality
to sing like a jaybird
vsto sing one's heart out
  • Informal
8.4

To sing very loudly and happily

focuses on passion even if performance lacks skill

How Enthusiastic

to sing one's heart out
  • Informal
4 4.8
to belt out
  • Informal
9 3.7
to sing
1.0

Surface Forms

singing one's heart out present participle
sings one's heart out third person singular
sung one's heart out past participle

Morphology

sing + one + heart + out

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'.