brain1 nounbrain2 verb
brainbrain1 /breɪn/ ●●● S2 W2 noun 
WORD ORIGINbrain1
Origin:
Old English brægenEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Branson has an excellent business brain.
- If you had any brains at all, you wouldn't ask such a stupid question.
- Louis was the brain in our class.
- My brain worked fast as I tried to decide what to do.
- Some of the best brains in the country are here tonight.
- Ted's got more money than brains.
- The brain has trillions of cells.
- The doctors have found a tumor in his brain.
- A tumour or trauma in one side of the brain causes a loss in the field of vision on the other side.
- An algorithm purporting to match what is presumed to be operating in a human brain would need to be a stupendous thing.
- As our discussion of the brain revealed, alcohol affects nearly everything it touches.
- But the brain is surrounded by the skull, and all that escaped blood takes up space, squeezing the brain.
- Doctors feared an air rifle pellet had pierced his brain when the joke went horribly wrong.
- His brain is completely scrambled tonight.
- They also accept that the brain has certain innate dispositions, if only the disposition to be reinforced by particular stimuli.
Longman Language Activatorthe ability to learn well
the ability to learn quickly, think clearly, and understand ideas well: · A child's intelligence develops rapidly between the ages of four and five.· Intelligence cannot be measured just by exam results.· In order to be a pilot you need to be of above average intelligence.· The department bases its selection process on a series of intelligence tests.
the ability to think quickly and well, remember a lot of facts, and be good at studying: somebody's brains: · He has his mother's brains and his father's good looks.· With your brains, you should easily get into college.have the brains (to do something): · Chloe had always been the one with the brains to really make something of herself.
a very high level of intelligence and ability: · Eddie's brilliance brought him top marks in the Harvard entrance exam.· His reputation was founded on his organizational abilities and his acknowledged brilliance as a leader of men.
the ability to think about and understand and express complicated ideas: · Our physical strength declines with age, but not necessarily our intellect.the intellect: · Joyce's books seem designed to appeal to the intellect rather than the emotions.a great/formidable etc intellect: · Rehnquist was a great scholar who possessed a formidable intellect.
an extremely high level of intelligence, ability, and skill which only a few people have: · Could a computer ever achieve the genius of men like Newton and Einstein.· Maurice was always entertaining, but there was a touch of genius in the way he talked that night.have a genius for (doing) something: · Sandra will deal with it. That woman has a genius for organization.
knowledge and good judgement based on experience of life: · Paul learned to value his father's wisdom and advice.the wisdom of something: · Some people were beginning to doubt the wisdom of their leader's decisions.conventional wisdom (=what is usually considered to be true and right): · Conventional wisdom says that the health of the economy is one of the most important factors that determines a president's chances of winning re-election.
intelligent and well-educated someone who is educated is intelligent and knows a lot because they have had a good education, have read a lot etc: · You're smart, you're educated, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a job.· In general, children of educated parents tend to get better grades.well educated: · The boy came from a good home, was well educated and had every advantage.highly educated: · Nadia is a highly-educated, very motivated individual who will go far.
an intelligent, well-educated person who spends a lot of their time thinking about, writing about, and discussing ideas, literature etc: · It's an organization of writers, artists and intellectuals, who come together to discuss their ideas.· The restaurant was once the meeting place for leading French left-wing intellectuals such as Sartre and de Beauvoir.
formal a learned person has read many books and knows a lot about many things, and is greatly respected because of their knowledge: · The old professor was obviously a very learned man.· It's true that art critics aren't as learned as art-historians in these matters.
someone who is academic is very good at studying and does well at school, university etc: · I wasn't very academic, and l left school at sixteen.· If you're academic, you can take some of your exams a year or two early.· Teachers must provide challenging activities for their more academic pupils.
the most intelligent person or people in a country, organization etc: the brains: · You'd better ask Toby. He's the brains around here.best brains: · Many of Britain's best brains have left the country to go and work in America.
formal the most intelligent and highly educated people in a society such as the writers, thinkers, and artists: · The demonstrators belong to the middle classes and the intelligentsia, which have suffered most as a result of the government's economic policies.
your mind what you use to think and imagine things: · His mind was full of big ideas for developing the company.· Dave struggled hard to push these worries out of his mind. (=try not to think about them)in your mind: · She had a picture of him in her mind - tall, blond and handsome.at the back of your mind (=when an idea is not very clear or certain): · At the back of my mind I had the funny feeling that I'd met her somewhere before.go/run through your mind (=): · The same thoughts kept going through my mind and I couldn't get to sleep.turn something over in your mind (=think about something carefully): · It was an interesting idea. Jeff turned it over in his mind on the way to work.what's going on in somebody's mind (=what somebody is thinking): · I never know what's going on in her mind.your mind wanders (=you cannot make yourself concentrate on a particular subject , and you start thinking about other things): · The teacher talked on and on and my mind began to wander.
your ability to think and the way that you think: · My brain worked fast as I tried to decide what to do.· Branson has an excellent business brain.
someone's mind - use this especially when talking about the thoughts that are in someone's mind: · Dan's head was full of big ideas.what's going on in somebody's head (=what somebody is thinking): · She's so quiet - you never quite know what's going on inside her head.
the part of your mind that influences the way you think or behave, even though you may not realize this is happening, and which makes you have dreams: the subconscious: · When you go to sleep it is only the conscious mind that shuts down. The subconscious cannot do so.somebody's subconscious: · Our subconscious plays tricks with us sometimes and we may imagine that we are seeing things such as ghosts.
formal someone's mind, especially their feelings and attitudes, and the way these influence their character: · The need for love is deeply buried in our psyche.· the fragile psyche of a teenagerthe human/female/American etc psyche (=the typical psyche of a human, female etc): · Freud has provided an account of the human psyche's different stages of development.
to think about something a lot · I've given this a lot of thought, because we all know that health care issues are very important today.give a lot of thought to something · Tony has given a lot of thought to what made his father a legendary coach.· Many of the new West-Coast designers have obviously given a lot of thought to their furniture designs.
to be thinking about something all the time, especially because you are worried about it: · She has something on her mind, but she won't tell us what it is.· "Should we tell Dad?" "No, he's got a lot on his mind right now."be on somebody's mind: · Come on, tell me what's on your mind.· I'm not looking forward to the interview. It's been on my mind all week.
also can't get somebody/something out of my mind informal to be unable to stop thinking about someone or something, even when you do not want to think about them: · After the first three months of the pregnancy were over, I just couldn't stop thinking about food.· I just can't get that poor family out of my mind.
to spend too much time thinking about something sad or unpleasant - use this especially when telling someone not to do this: · Brian's still dwelling too much on the past, in my opinion.· There's no use in dwelling on problems that we can't do anything about.
to keep thinking for a long time about something that worries you or that makes you angry or upset: · Austin sat in the corner brooding and looking sorry for himself.brood on/over/about: · You can't spend all your time at home brooding about the way he treated you.· The poetry spends a lot of time brooding over death.
to spend all your time thinking about something that concerns you, for example your work, so that you have no time to think about other things or other people: · These days she's so wrapped up in her children she never sees anybody.· Sometimes the professors are so wrapped up in their graduate students, they ignore the undergraduates.
to be thinking all the time about something that is worrying you or that is important to you, so that it is difficult to think about anything else: · What is being done to end the crisis which has preoccupied the country's political leadership?be preoccupied with: · My mother was preoccupied with my brother and his illness, so I was allowed to do what I wanted.
spoken to be always thinking about a particular thing - use this when you want to say that someone thinks about something far too much: · It's unbelievable - you have sex on the brain 24 hours a day!
to think about something carefully and repeatedly, especially something you do not fully understand or that you have not made a final decision about: · When Dan left, Mae stayed there, turning his invitation over in her mind.· As he studied the picture of the little boy, he began to turn an idea over in his mind.
WORD SETSaerobic, adjectiveafterbirth, nounalgae, nounalimentary canal, nounamber, nounameba, nounamino acid, nounamoeba, nounanaconda, nounanaerobic, adjectiveandrogynous, adjectiveantibody, nounantigen, nounantitoxin, nounappendage, nounarm, nounarmour, nounasexual, adjectiveassimilation, nounatrophy, verbaviary, nounbacteria, nounbacteriology, nounbarnacle, nounbile, nounbinocular vision, nounbio-, prefixbiochemistry, nounbiodegradable, adjectivebiodiversity, nounbiohazard, nounbiological, adjectivebiological clock, nounbiology, nounbiomass, nounbiome, nounbiosphere, nounblind, nounbrain, nounbreathe, verbbreed, verbbreed, nounbreeding, nounbristle, nounbulb, nouncapsule, nouncarbohydrate, nouncarbon dioxide, nouncarnivore, nouncell, nouncellular, adjectivecellulose, nouncentral nervous system, nouncervical, adjectivecholesterol, nounchromosome, nouncirculation, nouncirculatory, adjectiveclass, nounclone, nouncold-blooded, adjectiveconceive, verbconch, nounconnective tissue, nouncopulate, verbcoral reef, nouncornea, nouncoronary, adjectivecorpuscle, nouncortex, nouncortisone, nouncowrie, nouncrab, nouncrawfish, nouncrayfish, nouncreature, nouncross, verbcrossbreed, nounculture, nouncytoplasm, noundecay, verbdecay, noundecompose, verbdefecate, verbdenizen, noundextrose, noundiaphragm, noundigest, verbdigestion, noundigestive, adjectiveDNA, noundorsal, adjectivedry rot, nounduct, noundwarf, noundwarf, adjectiveecological, adjectiveecology, nounecosystem, nounegg, nounejaculate, verbembryo, nounembryonic, adjectiveenzyme, nounepidermis, nounevolution, nounevolutionary, adjectiveexcrement, nounexcrescence, nounexcrete, verbexcretion, nounexhale, verbexoskeleton, nounextinction, nounfaeces, nounfamily, nounfang, nounfat, nounfatty acid, nounfauna, nounfeces, nounfeed, verbfemale, adjectivefemale, nounferment, verbferment, nounfertile, adjectivefertility, nounfertilize, verbfission, nounflank, nounflatulence, nounflesh, nounfleshy, adjectiveflightless, adjectiveflora, nounfoetal, adjectivefoetus, nounfoliage, nounfossil, nounfreak, nounfreshwater, adjectivefructose, noungamete, nounganglion, noungene, noungene pool, noungenera, genetic, adjectivegenetic code, noungenetic engineering, noungenetic fingerprinting, noungenetics, noungenome, noungenus, noungestation, noungland, nounglandular, adjectiveglucose, noungluten, noungonad, noungrass snake, noungrow, verbgrowth, nounhabitat, nounhaemoglobin, nounhearing, nounheart, nounhemisphere, nounherbivore, nounhereditary, adjectiveheredity, nounhermaphrodite, nounhibernate, verbhistamine, nounhoming, adjectivehormone, nounhost, nounimpregnate, verbimpulse, nounincubate, verbindigenous, adjectiveinfected, adjectiveinfertile, adjectiveinfest, verbingest, verbinhale, verbinseminate, verbinsensate, adjectiveinsulin, nounintegument, nounintercourse, nouninterferon, nounintestine, nouninvertebrate, nouninvoluntary, adjectiveiris, nounjaw, nounjelly, nounkidney, nounkrill, nounlactate, verblactation, nounlactic acid, nounleech, nounleg, nounlesser, adjectivelichen, nounlife, nounlife cycle, nounlife form, nounligament, nounlimb, nounlimpet, nounlipid, nounliver, nounliving fossil, nounlocomotion, nounlymph, nounlymph node, nounmale, adjectivemale, nounmammal, nounmandible, nounmate, nounmate, verbmembrane, nounmetabolism, nounmetabolize, verbmetamorphosis, nounmicrobe, nounmicrobiology, nounmicroorganism, nounmicroscopic, adjectivemigrate, verbmigratory, adjectivemiscarriage, nounmolar, nounmorphology, nounmotor, adjectivemould, nounmouth, nounmucous membrane, nounmucus, nounmulticellular, adjectivemuscle, nounmuscular, adjectivemutant, nounmutate, verbmutation, nounnatural history, nounnatural selection, nounnature, nounneck, nounnectar, nounnerve, nounnervous, adjectivenervous system, nounneural, adjectiveneuro-, prefixneurology, nounnode, nounnose, nounnostril, nounnucleic acid, nounnucleus, nounnutrient, nounnutriment, nounoesophagus, nounoestrogen, nounolfactory, adjectiveoptic, adjectiveorgan, nounorganic, adjectiveorganic chemistry, nounorganism, nounorifice, nounossify, verbosteo-, prefixoutgrowth, nounova, ovary, nounoverwinter, verboviduct, nounoviparous, adjectiveovulate, verbovum, nounparasite, nounpathogen, nounpedigree, nounpelvic, adjectivepelvis, nounpenile, adjectivepenis, nounpepsin, nounperiod, nounperspiration, nounperspire, verbphotosynthesis, nounphylum, nounpigment, nounpigmentation, nounplankton, nounplasma, nounpollinate, verbpostnatal, adjectivepregnancy, nounpregnant, adjectivepremature, adjectiveprenatal, adjectiveproduct, nounproliferation, nounpropagate, verbprotein, nounprotoplasm, nounprotozoan, nounpuberty, nounpulmonary, adjectivepulp, nounpulsation, nounputrefy, verbputrid, adjectivered blood cell, nounregurgitate, verbrenal, adjectivereproduce, verbreproduction, nounreproductive, adjectiverespiration, nounrespiratory, adjectiverespire, verbretina, nounroot, nounrot, verbrot, nounruff, nounsac, nounsaliva, nounsalivary gland, nounsalivate, verbsaltwater, adjectivescale, nounscallop, nounscaly, adjectivesebaceous, adjectivesecrete, verbsecretion, nounsemen, nounsense organ, nounsensory, adjectiveserum, nounsex, nounsex, verbsexless, adjectivesexual intercourse, nounsheath, nounshell, nounsibling, nounskeletal, adjectiveskeleton, nounskin, nounskull, nounspasm, nounspasmodic, adjectivespecies, nounspecimen, nounsperm, nounspiderweb, nounspinal cord, nounspine, nounspineless, adjectivestarch, nounstem cell, nounstimulate, verbstimulus, nounstrain, nounsubject, nounsubspecies, nounsucker, nounsucrose, nounsweat, verbsweat, nounsweat gland, nounsymbiosis, nounsystemic, adjectivetail, nountaxonomy, nounteeth, testosterone, nountest-tube baby, nountissue, nountrachea, nountube, noununicellular, adjectiveurethra, nounuric, adjectiveurinate, verburine, nounvariety, nounvector, nounvein, nounvenom, nounvenomous, adjectiveventricle, nounvertebra, nounvertebrate, nounvivisection, nounwarm-blooded, adjectivewean, verbwildlife, nounwindpipe, nounyolk, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Meaning 2verbs
All that drink has addled his brains! Potts suffered severe brain damage in the crash. He died of a massive brain haemorrhage. his latest hare-brained scheme The sight of Joe’s dead body was imprinted on his mind forever. a brain tumourCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
· You should have more brains than to smoke.
· It’s easy if you just use your brain.
(=try very hard to think of something)· If we all rack our brains we should come up with some ideas.
(=ask someone for ideas)· I thought I’d pick Greg’s brains about what to take with us.
· It takes brains to think of a plan like that.
(=makes you unable to think clearly)· The alcohol had addled his brain.
adjectives· It was obvious that Ann had a good brain.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES All that drink has addled his brains! Potts suffered severe brain damage in the crash.· There was a scar where the bullet had entered his shoulder.
(=is stuck in that part of the body)· Surgeons are trying to remove a bullet lodged in his neck.
· No new brain cells are produced after birth.
· If you drink a lot of alcohol it can cause liver damage.
· The fumes have caused skin diseases among the villagers.
· She suffers from a rare brain disorder.
He died of a massive brain haemorrhage. his latest hare-brained scheme· Distances in space are too great for the human mind to comprehend.
The sight of Joe’s dead body was imprinted on his mind forever.· She is now fit again after knee surgery.
a brain tumour· The emergence of the information-processing capacity of the human brain is clearly a major transcendence in this sense.· Environmentalists fear the gasoline additive prematurely ages the human brain.· The human eye and brain are much happier reading short to medium length unjustified lines although books are conventionally justified.· The global mind is the union of computer and nature-of telephones and human brains and more.· Chomsky holds that the acquisition of language is internal to the human mind / brain.· The biochemistry of the human brain affects the impact of television.· The human brain shows a degree of complexity of a different order.· In short, the overwhelming probability is that the structure of the human brain is designed to provide phenomenal experiences.
· All would lead to more computing capacity and larger brains.· It was still in the fridge, a large cold brain of pasta.· A large brain relative to body size is an almost universal foetal characteristic of vertebrates, and certainly of mammals.· These advanced primates had large brains and eyes at the front of the face that gave them stereoscopic forward vision.· Or that a rhino's nose system is larger than its brain?· Fruit eating primates have relatively larger brains than those that eat leaves.· Sphingomyelin is found in large amounts in brain and nerve tissue.· Whales have the largest brains on earth.
· Extreme positions, however, whether of the right or left brain, are unbalanced, out of harmony and therefore potentially unhealthy.· Even sign languages depend on the left brain, just as do oral languages and reading.· In fact the left brain seems to be bored with spaces.· It would really be newsworthy if I had seen the left side move while the left brain was being stimulated.· Does my left brain tell the truth to my right brain, or can it lie to it?· It now appears that most left-handers have language in the left brain, just like right-handers.· More recently, however, interest in the left and right brain is due to work involving split-brain patients.· Broca also had an example of where language might live within the left brain.
· The opposite is naturally true too, the right brain controlling the left-hand side of the body.· Yet lateralization of spatial skills to the right brain is not the reverse.· The right brain noted something amiss ... Meanwhile, Yeremi's logical tech-side dreamed.· If all this language is in the left side of the brain, what are corresponding areas of the right brain doing?· Extreme positions, however, whether of the right or left brain, are unbalanced, out of harmony and therefore potentially unhealthy.· There must be a whole shelf of books claiming to tell you how to tap the right brain.· To the right brain, spaces and objects, the known and the unknown, the nameable and the unnameable are all the same.· Laughing and smiling, unlike other sequential face movements, are more readily disturbed from the right brain than the left.
NOUN· Perhaps there are special brain cells which we possess that chimpanzees do not.· Like cocaine and amphetamine, alcohol directly stimulates certain brain cells.· The sequelae of hypertonicity are believed to result largely from changes in brain cell size.· For instance, while brain cells do die and are not replaced, their loss is not an explanation for senility.· All of a sudden I know two things: why they were on the same brain cell, and how psychiatry works.· This in turn changes the way in which certain developing brain cells connect up with one another.· Then, the mice were killed and scientists counted their brain cells, looking for differences between the former littermates.
· After watching some of Ali's films, a London neurologist said he was convinced Ali had brain damage.· There are suggestions that with long-term use, fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine can cause subtle brain damage.· In extreme cases they can suffer brain damage or die.· Lead poisoning can cause kidney damage, injury to the central and peripheral nervous system and brain damage in particularly aggravated cases.· She continued to have fits and suffered serious and permanent brain damage.· All have returned to normal without permanent damage, although hyponatremia occurring during surgery has resulted in death or permanent brain damage.· Early diagnosis and treatment prevents brain damage and liver cirrhosis.· Little recognized that the cause was an abnormal birth which produced brain damage and secondary spasticity of the limbs.
· Still partially paralysed by the brain disease Guillain-Barre syndrome, he can only speak with the aid of an artificial voice box.· Some children will develop brain disease which will produce changes in mental behavior.· If the functional psychoses are not ordinary brain diseases, then what are they?· I thought it was a biologically based brain disease.· Look, you know they can give you brain diseases, don't you.· Patients who have organic brain disease are more likely to have an abnormality than those who do not.· Perhaps gene therapy could prevent the mutation of the prion gene that causes hereditary brain disease.
· Parkinson's disease is a degenerative brain disorder that causes tremors and muscle rigidity among other symptoms.· Once isolated, the mutant gene will be the second gene known to increase the risk for the brain disorder.· For Francesca, who's almost 3, suffers from a brain disorder which triggers off convulsive fits.· It is considered one of the most significant developments in the fight against many brain disorders and diseases.· Voice over Doctors are baffled by the cause of Francesca's brain disorder.· Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that can cause, among other things, visual and auditory hallucinations, delusions and distorted thinking.· The deaths linked to Zyban include heart attacks, suicides, brain disorders and asthma attacks.· I had a hangover that was mutating into some kind of brain disorder.
· He could not argue, looking at Imperial, that there has been a major brain drain of senior staff.
· Miss Diane died of a brain haemorrhage after a sharp difference of opinion with the producer about salary.· He survived a serious brain haemorrhage in 1955 and in the same year became rector of Thelveton in Norfolk.· Health assessments will also be made of Forster and his wife, who has suffered a brain haemorrhage.· Nigel had had a brain haemorrhage.· Having survived peritonitis and a brain haemorrhage on top of an inoperable cancer, who was to speculate?· She had even saved his life in 1978, when he sank into a coma after suffering a brain haemorrhage.· The doctor had told me that it was probable that he would die from either an infection or a brain haemorrhage.· The neurologist diagnosed a possible brain haemorrhage, and had Rose admitted to a specialist hospital in London.
· James Brady is just one of hundreds of experts and survivors at a top level conference on brain injuries.· The risk of serious brain injury with a concussion is very, very low.· Acquired dyslexia involves a loss of reading ability as a result of brain injury.· And an even more serious brain injury.· Deborah Wearing's husband has a severe brain injury.· Her husband, Michael, suffered brain injury when the family car was hit by a train nine years ago.· Services there are wider, with brain injuries about to be recognised in law.· Heavy blows to the head resulted in brain injury.
· The brain scan, the chest scan, the throat and bone scans all said the cancer had gone.· He was pulled from the game after the hit, and sent to a hospital for a brain scan.· We took him to hospital and he had various tests and a brain scan.· Ansah was carried off with concussion at Luton on Saturday, but had a precautionary brain scan and reported fit this morning.· Yet another picture shows her in hospital having a brain scan.· Shame he's not a proctologist-he could have given Fat Barry a brain scan.· Clearly a brain scan was needed.· Eight more people are also believed to be suffering from the condition following either brain scans or tonsil tests.
· The Gateway itself is situated deep in the brain stem.· The cerebellum, atop the brain stem, has many more, thanks to so many little granule cell neurons.· The internal state of the organism is monitored by means of receptors, mostly situated in the brain stem.· His head injury had damaged his brain stem.· This input is fed to certain parts of the brain stem and filtered.· There is another diffusely broadcasting group of neurons scattered along the centerline near the surface of the brain stem.· For a diagnosis of brain stem death irremediable structural brain damage should be present.· Two thumbtack-size patches of neurons located on the brain stem are particularly loaded with adenosine receptors.
· More recently reductions in two other brain peptides, cholecystokinin and somatostatin have also been described in the brain tissue of schizophrenics.· But once converted into prions, they turn deadly, destroying the brain tissue.· A biopsy of brain tissue detected the presence of toxoplasmosis, which is relatively harmless in people with normally functioning immune systems.· To be sure, scientists have created disease by inoculating animals with brain tissue from infected animals.· She tried to regroup her scattered brain tissue, pulling back pieces of her mind before they were lost for ever.· We are talking about the brain tissue of an aborted foetus whose gestation period has to be between 10 and 11 weeks.· Over years, the prions relentlessly multiply, clumping together in brain tissue until the damage becomes apparent.
· The autopsy report registered death as the result of a brain tumour.· Daniel Stoneman has defied the doctors who gave him a one-in-10 chance of survival from a rare brain tumour.· Contributors Mary Relling did pharmacological studies of antimetabolites and identified their relation with risk of brain tumour.· Sadly, he died of an aggressive brain tumour just three months after I was diagnosed.· Atwater had become increasingly incapacitated by an inoperable brain tumour during the last year of his life.· He died in Weihsien 21 February 1945 of a brain tumour.· Janet, 33, suffering from a brain tumour, has just finished a course of the drug Temozolomide.· A bruised rib was taken for heart trouble, a headache for an incipient brain tumour.
· They also hope to raise funds for vital research into brain tumours.· Andrew Walter analysed risk factors for brain tumours in previous relevant protocols.· Therefore, systemic glucocorticoids may have a protective effect against brain tumours.· Underlying genetic characteristics and treatment variables may be associated with an increased risk of radiation-associated brain tumours.· None of the other children studied had evidence of brain tumours.
VERB· And finally there is meditation which is the specific thought designed to affect and train the brain.· But you should remain in control of what agents you take to affect your brain.· Overall, the evidence suggests that IgE-mediated allergy probably can affect the brain, either directly or indirectly.· But without a doubt, caffeine affects the rest of the body as powerfully as it affects the brain.· Or else, possibly, the thallium was starting to affect his brain.· Many neurologic disorders affecting the brain stem, cerebellum, and spinal cord posterior column may cause dizzy sensations.
· The bullet took him right between the eyes, blowing his brains out through the back of his head.· In a few years you will blow your brains out, a bankrupt.· There was a mercury pool for losers to reflect in while they blew their brains out.· At that range she knew the gun would blow out her brains.· Reading my dreams felt like a cool breeze blowing through my brain.· Hunting rabbits with hawks is surely better than blowing their brains out with shotguns.· The accused said that he would blow the victim's brains out if he was not quiet.· No wonder the scribblers on the hustings have so much stale garbage blowing around their brains.
· Being the nosy type, I thought I'd pick his brains.· In some office in the Pentagon, they are waiting to pick his brains.· It is a helpful behaviour to use whenever you need to pick some one else's brains.· He reads and digests material on a vast range of topics and picks the brains of most of the leading authorities.
· Which left Fabia racking her brains to think of how next best to get through to the woman.· There was a silence while they both racked their brains.· She sat back in the seat as she racked her brain before coming to just one conclusion: Harry Martin.· Harry racked his brains for another moment, then gave up.· There was a silence in the room as we all simultaneously racked our brains for a missing disease.· He racked his brains, but did not come up with a solution.· Rachel racked her brains, trying to remember what Jamie had said of him - ruthless, living only for his ambition.· I waved back, racking my brains to remember who she was.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► something is not brain surgeryPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► the brain drain► mind/brain candy► a fevered imagination/mind/brain► a nimble mind/brain/wit
1- What's the matter with you? Are you brain dead or something?
- As laid back as you can get without being declared clinically brain dead.
- But he was pronounced dead, you know the doctor came and said brain dead.
- It's unbelievable - you have sex on the brain 24 hours a day!
- You always have food on the brain.
- But the festering problem may have effects on the brain, just as it can elsewhere in the body.
- Must have maggots on the brain.
- Bakewell senses that Rudd was the brains behind the fraud, but it was the brothers who were condemned to death.
- Builtin computers are the brains behind them.
- Maybe it was them who built the fences and he was the brains behind the organization.
- Why should you beat your brains out fighting the environmentalists?
- Seven hours of beating your brains out when you weren't feeling all that hot to begin with.
- Shall we beat their brains out in court?
- Hunting rabbits with hawks is surely better than blowing their brains out with shotguns.
- In a few years you will blow your brains out, a bankrupt.
- The bullet took him right between the eyes, blowing his brains out through the back of his head.
- There was a mercury pool for losers to reflect in while they blew their brains out.
- Even now no-one seems quite certain whether this was a fact, a half-fact or the product of a fertile imagination.
- He is said to have been convivial, widely knowledgeable, with a fertile imagination and a whimsical sense of humour.
- Each time I see one of these cocoons hanging from a tree, all of these marvels flash through my mind.
- Her body seemed determined to ignore the danger signals now at last flashing through her brain.
- It flashed through my mind that I was close.
- The image of the guard in his elaborate flowering prison flashes through her head.
- The one occasion which was flashing through Yanto's mind at this moment involved just three of the local water babies.
- The only idea that flashed through my head was that some one had broken into the house and was attacking Master Yehudi.
- The past twenty-two months flashed through my mind like film run at high speed, and suddenly I felt rather tired.
- This was staggering new information, and all kinds of ideas were flashing through our minds.
- The workshop is designed so that new managers can pick the brains of managers with more experience.
- You know all about tax law - can I pick your brains for a minute?
- Desperately, Irvin racked his brains, but there was nothing he could tell them.
- She racked her brains, trying to remember what David had said.
- They sat in silence, racking their brains for the name of the road.
- I've racked my brains, but at my age there are precious few left to rack.
- I waved back, racking my brains to remember who she was.
- Rachel racked her brains, trying to remember what Jamie had said of him - ruthless, living only for his ambition.
- There was a silence in the room as we all simultaneously racked our brains for a missing disease.
- Which left Fabia racking her brains to think of how next best to get through to the woman.
- This amount of LSD is enough to scramble anyone's brains.
- The youngster was destined to follow many of his ancestors by dying from the family curse hydrocephalus water on the brain.
organ [countable] the organ inside your head that controls how you think, feel, and move: Messages from the brain are carried by the central nervous system. the chemistry of the brain the human brainthe right/left hemisphere of the brain (=the right or left side of the brain) Emotional responses are a function of the right hemisphere of the brain. She died of a brain tumour.brain tissue/cell2intelligence [countable usually plural, uncountable] the ability to think clearly and learn quickly: If you had any brains, you’d know what I meant. The job requires brains. Something’s addled your brains (=made you confused). Come on, use your brain, John.3person [countable usually plural] informal someone who is intelligent, with good ideas and useful skills: Some of our best brains are leaving the country to work in the US. → brain drain4food [uncountable] (also brains [plural]) the brain of an animal, used as food5have something on the brain informal to be always thinking about something: I’ve got that song on the brain today.6be the brains behind/of something to be the person who thought of and developed a particular plan, system, or organization, especially a successful one: Danny’s definitely the brains of the project.7brain dead a)in a state where your brain has stopped working properly, even though your heart may still be beating b) informal in a state in which you seem stupid or uninteresting, especially because you live a boring life or are very tired8something is not brain surgery informal used to say that something is not difficult to do → bird-brain, hare-brained, → beat your brains out at beat1(22), → pick somebody’s brains at pick1(7), → rack your brain(s) at rack2(2)COLLOCATIONS– Meaning 2verbshave brains· You should have more brains than to smoke.use your brain· It’s easy if you just use your brain.rack your brains (=try very hard to think of something)· If we all rack our brains we should come up with some ideas.pick somebody’s brains (=ask someone for ideas)· I thought I’d pick Greg’s brains about what to take with us.it takes/requires brains to do something· It takes brains to think of a plan like that.something addles your brain (=makes you unable to think clearly)· The alcohol had addled his brain.adjectivesa good/quick brain· It was obvious that Ann had a good brain.brain1 nounbrain2 verb
brainbrain2 verb [transitive] informal VERB TABLE
brain
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | brain |
| he, she, it | brains | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | brained |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have brained |
| he, she, it | has brained | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had brained |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will brain |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have brained |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I'll brain you if you don't shut up!
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES All that drink has addled his brains! Potts suffered severe brain damage in the crash. He died of a massive brain haemorrhage. his latest hare-brained scheme The sight of Joe’s dead body was imprinted on his mind forever. a brain tumour
All that drink has addled his brains! Potts suffered severe brain damage in the crash.· There was a scar where the bullet had entered his shoulder.
(=is stuck in that part of the body)· Surgeons are trying to remove a bullet lodged in his neck.
· No new brain cells are produced after birth.
· If you drink a lot of alcohol it can cause liver damage.
· The fumes have caused skin diseases among the villagers.
· She suffers from a rare brain disorder.
He died of a massive brain haemorrhage. his latest hare-brained scheme· Distances in space are too great for the human mind to comprehend.
The sight of Joe’s dead body was imprinted on his mind forever.· She is now fit again after knee surgery.
a brain tumourPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► the brain drain► mind/brain candy► a fevered imagination/mind/brain► a nimble mind/brain/wit
to hit someone very hard on the head – used humorously: - Why should you beat your brains out fighting the environmentalists?
- Seven hours of beating your brains out when you weren't feeling all that hot to begin with.
- Shall we beat their brains out in court?
- Hunting rabbits with hawks is surely better than blowing their brains out with shotguns.
- In a few years you will blow your brains out, a bankrupt.
- The bullet took him right between the eyes, blowing his brains out through the back of his head.
- There was a mercury pool for losers to reflect in while they blew their brains out.
- Even now no-one seems quite certain whether this was a fact, a half-fact or the product of a fertile imagination.
- He is said to have been convivial, widely knowledgeable, with a fertile imagination and a whimsical sense of humour.
- Each time I see one of these cocoons hanging from a tree, all of these marvels flash through my mind.
- Her body seemed determined to ignore the danger signals now at last flashing through her brain.
- It flashed through my mind that I was close.
- The image of the guard in his elaborate flowering prison flashes through her head.
- The one occasion which was flashing through Yanto's mind at this moment involved just three of the local water babies.
- The only idea that flashed through my head was that some one had broken into the house and was attacking Master Yehudi.
- The past twenty-two months flashed through my mind like film run at high speed, and suddenly I felt rather tired.
- This was staggering new information, and all kinds of ideas were flashing through our minds.
- The workshop is designed so that new managers can pick the brains of managers with more experience.
- You know all about tax law - can I pick your brains for a minute?
- Desperately, Irvin racked his brains, but there was nothing he could tell them.
- She racked her brains, trying to remember what David had said.
- They sat in silence, racking their brains for the name of the road.
- I've racked my brains, but at my age there are precious few left to rack.
- I waved back, racking my brains to remember who she was.
- Rachel racked her brains, trying to remember what Jamie had said of him - ruthless, living only for his ambition.
- There was a silence in the room as we all simultaneously racked our brains for a missing disease.
- Which left Fabia racking her brains to think of how next best to get through to the woman.
- This amount of LSD is enough to scramble anyone's brains.
- The youngster was destined to follow many of his ancestors by dying from the family curse hydrocephalus water on the brain.
I wanted to brain him.