Definition of bruise verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

bruise

verb

/bruːz/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they bruise	/bruːz/ /bruːz/
he / she / it bruises	/ˈbruːzɪz/ /ˈbruːzɪz/
past simple bruised	/bruːzd/ /bruːzd/
past participle bruised	/bruːzd/ /bruːzd/
-ing form bruising	/ˈbruːzɪŋ/ /ˈbruːzɪŋ/

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[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.
Synonyms injure
injurewound ▪ 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 that 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 twisting it, 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
Wordfinder
- bandage
- bleed
- bruise
- fracture
- hurt
- injury
- plaster
- sore
- swell
- wound
Collocations Injuries
InjuriesBeing 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
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.
Topics Health problemsb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- badly
- easily
phrases
- be all bruised
- battered and bruised
- bruised and battered
- …
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[transitive, usually passive] to affect somebody badly and make them feel unhappy and less confident
- be bruised (by something) 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’.

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