brain

noun

/breɪn/

Idioms

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in head

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[countable] the organ inside the head that controls movement, thought, memory and feeling

The human brain is a complex organ.
My tired brain couldn't cope with such a complex problem.
There may have been some brain damage.
brain cells/tissue
a brain tumour/haemorrhage/injury
Sometimes the doctor will also do a brain scan.
brain surgery

Extra Examples

He had a brain scan to search for possible damage.
He was found to have a blood clot on his brain.
His brain reeled as he realized the implication of his dismissal.
The left brain controls the right-hand side of the body.
The stopping distance includes the time taken for the brain to register the need to stop.
Electrodes were used to measure brain activity during sleep.
Fruit eating primates have relatively larger brains than those that eat leaves.
She died of a brain tumour.
a device to measure brain activity during sleep
There has been some loss of brain function.
She is Britain's youngest female brain surgeon.
The scan apparently showed no damage to the brain.

Topics Bodya2

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

human
left
right
…

brain + noun

cell
tissue
region
…

preposition

in the/your brain
on the/your brain

phrases

blow your brains out

See full entry

food

brains

[plural] the brain of an animal, eaten as food

sheep’s brains

intelligence

[uncountable, countable, usually plural] the ability to learn quickly and think about things in a logical and intelligent way

It doesn't take much brain to work out that both stories can't be true.
Teachers spotted that he had a good brain at an early age.
You need brains as well as brawn (= intelligence as well as strength) to do this job.

intelligent person

[countable, usually plural] (informal) an intelligent person

one of the best scientific brains in the country
We have the best scientific brains in the country working on this.

the brains

[singular] the most intelligent person in a particular group; the person who is responsible for thinking of and organizing something

He's always been the brains of the family.
the brains behind something The band's drummer is the brains behind their latest venture.
He was the brains behind the robberies.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

fertile
fine
good
…

verb + brain

rack
pick somebody’s
take
…

brain + verb

function
tick over
work
…

brain + noun

power
drain

preposition

brain behind

phrases

brains, not brawn
etc.
have a brain for something
…

See full entry

Word OriginOld English brægen, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch brein.

Idioms

beat your brains out

(informal, especially North American English) to think very hard about something for a long time
- I’ve been beating my brains out all weekend to get this script written.

blow your/somebody’s brains out

to kill yourself/somebody by shooting yourself/them in the head
- He put a gun to his head and threatened to blow his brains out.
- While cleaning his shotgun he had accidentally blown his own brains out.

cudgel your brains

(old-fashioned, British English) to think very hard
- I had to cudgel my brains to remember her name.

have something on the brain

(informal) to think about something all the time, especially in a way that is annoying
- He's got football on the brain.

pick somebody’s brains

(informal) to ask somebody a lot of questions about something because they know more about the subject than you do
- I need to pick your brains: what can you tell me about credit unions?

rack your brain(s)

to think very hard or for a long time about something
- She racked her brains, trying to remember exactly what she had said.
- We racked our brains but we couldn't come up with a solution.