1.an instinctive motive;
profound religious impulses
2.a sudden desire;
he bought it on an impulse
3.the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber;
they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus
4.(electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients);
the pulsations seemed to be coming from a star
5.the act of applying force suddenly;
the impulse knocked him over
6.an impelling force or strength;
the car's momentum carried it off the road