skip a beat

verb — 3 senses

skip a beat

verb

1

Literally To miss a beat.

2

Broadly To experience a strong emotion.

When of a heart

My heart seemed to skip a beat when I parked my car at the old Safeway supermarket. My eyes gaped at the same aisles I had strolled through as a child.1997, David J. Pelzer, The lost boy: a foster child's search for the love of a family:
Her heart seemed to skip a beat. "Halte!" the soldier ordered in a stern voice.1989, Lois Lowry, Number the stars:

1 more example

What set it apart and caused my heart to skip a beat were the words printed where the artist's signature usually goes, […]2001, Linda Bremner, love in the mail:

3

Broadly, Idiomatic To momentarily falter.

THE MEGHA HAD BEEN on the water for some three hours when Piya heard the engine skip a beat.2005, Amitav Ghosh, The hungry tide:
Indeed, he did not skip a beat, stayed right with his training regimen, and flew out to Seattle on August 8.2008, Alan Howard Levy, Floyd Patterson: a boxer and a gentleman:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.