- [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.
- She was found to have sustained a brain injury.
- brain cells/tissue
- a brain tumour/haemorrhage/aneurysm
- Sometimes the doctor will also do a brain scan.
- brain surgery
Extra ExamplesTopics Bodya2- 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.
- We want to halve stillbirths and brain injuries in newborns in the next five years.
- She died of a brain tumour.
- a device to measure brain activity during sleep
- There has been some loss of brain function.
- She is one of the country's leading brain surgeons.
- The scan apparently showed no damage to the brain.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- human
- left
- right
- …
- cell
- tissue
- region
- …
- in the/your brain
- on the/your brain
- blow your brains out
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- brains[plural] the brain of an animal, eaten as food
- sheep’s brains
- [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.
Extra Examples- She has a good brain for mathematics.
- Jack's got the brain to realize that the money won't last forever.
- They relied on brains rather than brawn.
- She must have inherited her mother's brains.
- It's important to keep your brain ticking over.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- fertile
- fine
- good
- …
- rack
- pick somebody’s
- take
- …
- function
- tick over
- work
- …
- power
- drain
- brain behind
- brains, not brawn
- etc.
- have a brain for something
- …
- [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
- …
- rack
- pick somebody’s
- take
- …
- function
- tick over
- work
- …
- power
- drain
- brain behind
- brains, not brawn
- etc.
- have a brain for something
- …
in head
food
intelligence
intelligent person
Word OriginOld English brægen, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch brein.
Idioms
See brain in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee brain in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbeat your brains out
- (especially North American English, informal) 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
- She'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.
Check pronunciation:
brain