Pronunciations (5)
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/ˈbɹeɪ̯n/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
- Received-Pronunciation
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/ˈbɹæ̝ɪ̯n/
Pronunciation notes
- Australia
- New-Zealand
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/ˈbɾen/
Pronunciation notes
- Scotland
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/ˈbɾein/
Pronunciation notes
- Wales
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bɹeɪn
Noun
The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull, consisting of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem, which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Synonyms
- Examples
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More examples (1)
The Ueynes are ſpred foorth throughout the whole bodie, howbeit from one welhead, that is to ſay from the Liuer: ſo be the Sinews, howbeit from the Brayne; So likewiſe are the Heartſtrings, howbeit from the Heart.
The brain of a calf, sheep, and pig, young and served fresh, is reputedly erotic in its effects.
More examples (1)
Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull, consisting of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem, which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action. A part of the brain, especially associated with particular mental functions, abilities, etc.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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The left brain, or that which supplies and animates the right side of the body, is the most active brain, as a general rule.
More examples (1)
What is expressed in the lotus, the plumed serpent, or the staff of Osiris is the yogi's knowledge of the three brains of man. The first brain is the reptilian brain of the spinal cord, the brain of instinctive reflexes, the brain of the subconscious.
The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull, consisting of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem, which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action. skull; head
Usage- Countable
- Obsolete
- Uncountable
- Examples
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caused the young Princess, the King's only Daughter, to be taken and thrust into a large velvet Sack, and her Brains to be knockt out with great Bars
Mind.
Usage- Countable
- Informal
- Uncountable
- Examples
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I have too much on my brain today.
And I should tell him all my pain, / And how my life had droop’d of late, / And he should sorrow o’er my state / And marvel what possess’d my brain; […]
Intellect.
Usage- Countable
- in-plural
- Uncountable
- Examples
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More examples (1)
"We provided a lot of brains and a lot of heart to the response when it was needed," says Sandra Sanchez, director of AFSC's Immigrants' Voice Program in Des Moines.
She has a lot of brains.
An intelligent person.
Usage- Countable
- Informal
- Uncountable
- Examples
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She was a total brain.
Peebee: The brains and I are comparing Remnant notes and filling in the blanks.
An intelligent person. A person who provides the intelligence required for something.
Usage- Countable
- Informal
- plural
- Plural only
- Uncountable
- Examples
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He is the brains behind the scheme.
An intelligent person. An intellectual or mental capacity.
Usage- Countable
- Informal
- singular
- Uncountable
- Examples
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Gerald always acts like he doesn't have a brain.
By analogy with a human brain, the part of a machine or computer that performs calculations.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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The computer's brain is capable of millions of calculations a second.
Oral sex.
Usage- Slang
- Uncountable
- Vulgar
- Examples
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Have you ever popped champagne on a plane, while gettin' some brain?
You said I got brain from your dame in the range / In the passing lane / But you really ain't got no proof
More examples (2)
Got your nigga going / Going insane and so do I when he give me brain
She giving brain / She eat the dick up like some M&Ms
A loose compartment of a backpack that straps on over the top opening.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
Verb
To dash out the brains of; to kill by smashing the skull.
Usage- Transitive
To strike (someone) on the head.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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More examples (1)
Lambdon would require medical attention for a fractured skull. It seemed that Fen had passed his wife a couple of telling pictures, whereupon the drab Mrs. Lambdon had brained her husband with a table lamp.
To destroy; to put an end to.
Usage- Figurative
- Transitive
- Examples
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There thou maiſt braine him,
It was the ſwift celeritie of his death / […] That brain'd my purpoſe:
More examples (1)
He was going on with some wild reminiscences about his tomahawk-pipe, which, it seemed, had in its two uses both brained his foes and soothed his soul, when we were directly attracted to the sleeping rigger.
To conceive in the mind; to understand.
Usage- Obsolete
- Transitive
- Examples
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'Tis still a dream, or else such stuff as madmen / Tongue, and brain not.
To think effectively.
Usage- Humorous
- Intransitive
- nonstandard
- Examples
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My brain isn't braining right now.
Noun
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
mental ability
- Broader terms
- Examples
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he's got plenty of brains but no common sense
that which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions; the seat of the faculty of reason
- Examples
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his mind wandered
I couldn't get his words out of my head
someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality
- Broader terms
- Examples
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Mozart was a child genius
he's smart but he's no Einstein
the brain of certain animals used as meat
- Broader terms
Verb
hit on the head
- Broader terms
kill by smashing someone's skull
- Broader terms