What does "heartburn" mean?

1. (chest pain from acid) a painful, burning feeling in your chest or throat that happens after eating, caused by stomach acid. 2. (annoyance or distress) a feeling of great worry, sadness, or annoyance about a situation.

heartburn — meaning, definition & examples

Word

01chest pain from acid

B1 · Intermediate Uncountable noun Medicine

n. a painful, burning feeling in your chest or throat that happens after eating, caused by stomach acid.

n. a burning sensation in the chest or throat caused by the reflux of gastric acid into the oesophagus.

“He often gets heartburn if he eats spicy food late at night.”

“The patient reported chronic heartburn that worsened when lying down, suggesting a possible issue with the lower oesophageal sphincter.”

Synonyms

indigestionacid refluxpyrosis

02annoyance or distress

C2 · Proficiency Uncountable noun Literary

n. a feeling of great worry, sadness, or annoyance about a situation.

n. a state of persistent irritation, resentment, or emotional distress regarding a specific issue.

“The new tax laws caused a lot of heartburn for small business owners.”

“The proposed merger caused considerable heartburn among the board members, who feared a loss of corporate identity.”

Synonyms

vexationgrief resentment

Antonyms

satisfaction peace

From Middle English hertbryne, herte-bren (“lust", also "heartburn”, literally “heart burn”), equivalent to heart + burn. Compare also Middle English herte-brennyng (“anger, bitterness, heartburn”, literally “burning of/in the heart, heart-burning”). Compare also Ancient Greek καρδιαλγία (kardialgía), from καρδία (kardía, “heart”) + ἄλγος (álgos, “pain”). From being a burning sensation near the location of the heart in the chest.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

NOUN

heartburn(B1)

ADJECTIVE