Etymology The low-pitched, longer first heart sound forms lub. The higher-pitched, shorter second heart sound forms dub.
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Medicine, SciencesOnomatopoeic Used to represent the normal rhythm of the heart on auscultation, comprising the first and second heart sounds.
Ralph tried to listen above the steady lub-dub, lub-dub of Ryan's heart, but soon he grew bored. Ryan's shirt was new and the flannel still fuzzy. Ralph nipped a hole in the front of the pocket for a better view and then, lulled by the muffled lub-dub, lub-dub and the steady rise and fall of Ryan's chest, fell asleep as if he were being rocked in a cradle.1982, Beverly Cleary, Ralph S. Mouse, New York, NY: HarperCollins, published 2000, →ISBN, page 51:
Etymology The low-pitched, longer first heart sound forms lub. The higher-pitched, shorter second heart sound forms dub.
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Of a heart, to beat.
I pulled my eyes away to glance downstream at a cinder cone perched at the brink of the left Esplanade above the mouth of Prospect Canyon and the still-hidden Lava Falls. My heart lub-dubbed a few beats quicker.1992, Michael P. Ghiglieri, Canyon, Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, →ISBN, page 237: