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

sprain

verb

/spreɪn/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they sprain	/spreɪn/ /spreɪn/
he / she / it sprains	/spreɪnz/ /spreɪnz/
past simple sprained	/spreɪnd/ /spreɪnd/
past participle sprained	/spreɪnd/ /spreɪnd/
-ing form spraining	/ˈspreɪnɪŋ/ /ˈspreɪnɪŋ/

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sprain something to injure a joint in your body, especially your wrist or ankle, by suddenly twisting it
- I stumbled and sprained my ankle.
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
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
Topics Health problemsb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Sprain is used with these nouns as the object:
ankle
knee
ligament
…
See full entry
Word Originearly 17th cent.: of unknown origin.

See sprain in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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sprain noun

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trait

noun

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