- 1[intransitive, transitive] to develop a bruise, or make a bruise or bruises appear on the skin of somebody/something Strawberries bruise easily. bruise something She had slipped and badly bruised her face. Synonymsinjurewound hurt bruise sprain pull strainThese words all mean to harm yourself or somebody else physically, especially in an accident.injure to harm yourself or somebody else physically, especially in an accident:He injured his knee playing hockey. Three people were injured in the crash.wound [often passive] (rather formal) to injure part of the body, especially by making a hole in the skin using a weapon:50 people were seriously wounded in the attack. Wound is often used to talk about people being hurt in war or in other attacks which affect a lot of people.hurt to cause physical pain to somebody/yourself; to injure somebody/yourself:Did you hurt yourself?injure or hurt?You can hurt or injure a part of the body in an accident. Hurt emphasizes the physical pain caused; injure emphasizes that the part of the body has been damaged in some way.bruise to make a blue, brown or purple mark (= a bruise) appear on the skin after somebody has fallen or been hit; to develop a bruisesprain to injure part of your body, especially your ankle, wrist or knee, by suddenly bending it in an awkward way, causing pain and swellingpull to damage a muscle, etc, by using too much forcestrain to injure yourself or part of your body by making it work too hard:Don’t strain your eyes by reading in poor light.Patterns to injure/hurt/strain yourself to injure/hurt/sprain/pull/strain a muscle to injure/hurt/sprain your ankle/foot/knee/wrist/hand to injure/hurt/strain your back/shoulder/eyes to injure/hurt your spine/neck to be badly/severely/slightly injured/wounded/hurt/bruised/sprained Wordfinderhurtbandage, bleed, bruise, fracture, hurt, injury, plaster, sore, swell, wound CollocationsInjuriesBeing injured have a fall/an injury receive/suffer/sustain a serious injury/a hairline fracture/(especially British English) whiplash/a gunshot wound hurt/injure your ankle/back/leg damage the brain/an ankle ligament/your liver/the optic nerve/the skin pull/strain/tear a hamstring/ligament/muscle/tendon sprain/twist your ankle/wrist break a bone/your collarbone/your leg/three ribs fracture/crack your skull break/chip/knock out/lose a tooth burst/perforate your eardrum dislocate your finger/hip/jaw/shoulder bruise/cut/graze your arm/knee/shoulder burn/scald yourself/your tongue bang/bump/hit/ (informal) bash your elbow/head/knee (on/against something)Treating injuries treat somebody for burns/a head injury/a stab wound examine/clean/dress/bandage/treat a bullet wound repair a damaged/torn ligament/tendon/cartilage amputate/cut off an arm/a finger/a foot/a leg/a limb put on/ (formal) apply/take off (especially North American English) a Band-Aid™/(British English) a plaster/a bandage need/require/put in/ (especially British English) have (out)/ (North American English) get (out) stitches put on/rub on/ (formal) apply cream/ointment/lotion have/receive/undergo (British English) physiotherapy/(North American English) physical therapy Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbbadly, easily phrasesbe all bruised, battered and bruised, bruised and battered, … See full entry See related entries: Injuries, Skin
- 2[transitive, usually passive] bruise somebody to affect somebody badly and make them feel unhappy and less confident They had been badly bruised by the defeat. Word OriginOld English brȳsan ‘crush or injure with a blow’, reinforced in Middle English by Old French bruisier ‘break’.Extra examples His face was badly bruised. She has delicate skin and bruises easily. The side of his face was all bruised. When the assault was over, Jack stood up, battered and bruised. Careful: I bruise easily.
bruise
verbBrE BrE//bruːz//; NAmE NAmE//bruːz//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they bruise BrE BrE//bruːz//; NAmE NAmE//bruːz//
he / she / it bruises BrE BrE//ˈbruːzɪz//; NAmE NAmE//ˈbruːzɪz//
past simple bruised BrE BrE//bruːzd//; NAmE NAmE//bruːzd//
past participle bruised BrE BrE//bruːzd//; NAmE NAmE//bruːzd//
-ing form bruising BrE BrE//ˈbruːzɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈbruːzɪŋ//
Injuries, SkinCheck pronunciation: bruise
