From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbruisebruise1 /bruːz/ ●●○ noun [countable] 1 MIa purple or brown mark on your skin that you get because you have fallen, been hit etc minor cuts and bruises► see thesaurus at injury2 HBPa mark on a piece of fruit that spoils its appearance
Examples from the Corpus
bruise• Jack often comes home from rugby covered in cuts and bruises.• She nursed a bone bruise in her ankle most of the season, a painful injury that limited her impact.• Her head throbbed in rhythm with her bruises, yet she'd hardly noticed any of it downstairs.• I was intoxicated with the information he had provided me, and my bruises were forgotten.• Jenny looked as though she'd been crying, and there was a nasty bruise on her cheek.• She pinched bruises on her daughter's inner arm, and had poured hot tea on both daughters.• I stroke her lifeless cheek, and as I do the deep purple bruises seem to fade a little.• I banged into the shelf so hard that I got an ugly purple bruise on my hip.• How did you get that bruise on your shoulder?• Joachim cleaned my face, wiping dirt from the bruises whilst I greedily gulped the thick red claret.bruisebruise2 ●○○ verb 1 MIINJURE[intransitive, transitive] if part of your body bruises, or if you bruise part of your body, it gets hit or hurt and a bruise appears She fell off her bike and bruised her knee.► see thesaurus at hurt2 [transitive] to affect someone badly and make them feel less confidentbruise somebody’s pride/ego The incident had bruised his pride.3 HBP[intransitive, transitive] if a piece of fruit bruises, or is bruised, it gets a bruise by being hit, dropped etc —bruised adjective a badly bruised knee a bruised ego→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
bruise• He was standing just inside the doorway, supporting Piper O'Rourke, who was looking old, tired and bruised.• Keller badly bruised a hip, and came off early in the second half of the match.• Safety Tim McDonald had bruised a left shoulder in the Rams game, which flared up again Sunday.• He had pulled her down, so that she fell heavily on the asphalt, bruising and grazing her legs.• But her whole body, strained and bruised as if he had beaten her, that was the monument to his reality.• Not getting the promotion really bruised his ego.• Payton bruised his hip ten minutes into the game.• Strong safety Tim McDonald bruised his left shoulder, an injury he brought into the game and exacerbated.• He bruised his right shoulder the week before in the win over the Rams.• My skin bruises quite easily.• Mom fell on the ice and bruised the side of her leg.• The models reeling down the catwalks are stick thin, their faces cavernous and bruised, their hair matted.Origin bruise2 Old English brysan “to press so as to break, bruise”, later influenced by Old French brisier, bruisier “to break” 