Purple Heart
noun U.S. Armed Forces.
a medal awarded for wounds received in action against an enemy or as a direct result of an act of the enemy.
Origin of Purple Heart
An Americanism dating back to 1930–35
Example sentences from the Web for purple heart
In Guiana the canoe is made of the bark of the purple-heart tree, stripped off and tied together at the ends.
The Evolution of Culture |Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers
British Dictionary definitions for purple heart (1 of 2)
purple heart
noun
any of several tropical American leguminous trees of the genus Peltogyne
the decorative purple heartwood of any of these trees
informal, mainly British
a heart-shaped purple tablet consisting mainly of amphetamine
British Dictionary definitions for purple heart (2 of 2)
Purple Heart
noun
a decoration awarded to members of the US Armed Forces for a wound incurred in action