brain

verb

brained; braining; brains

transitive verb

1

: to kill by smashing the skull

2

: to hit on the head

Examples of brain in a Sentence

The tree limb fell and nearly brained me.

Recent Examples on the Web

Then there is the activism at its most mush-brained. —Literary Hub, 3 June 2026

Retro Rewind is the kind of game that will keep your hands and brain minimally busy while listening to a podcast or watching some rerun on a background TV. —ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026

When science said dinosaurs were pea-brained and cold-blooded, humans took their demise as proof of the superiority of warm, clever mammals. —Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026

But no squirrel brains for me, thanks. —Josh Miller, Southern Living, 21 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing brain

• acquired brain injury
• blood-brain barrier
• brain attack
• brain coral
• brain cramp
• brain-dead
• brain death
• brain drain
• brain dump
• brain fog
• brain freeze
• brain hormone
• brain-picking
• brain rot
• brain stem
• brain trust
• brain wave
• chemo brain
• half a brain
• left brain
• minimal brain dysfunction
• one's brain turns into/to mush
• on the brain
• organic brain syndrome
• pick someone's brain/brains
• rack one's brain
• right brain
• split-brain
• traumatic brain injury

Rhymes for brain

• ane
• bane
• blain
• cane
• chaine
• cheyne
• deign
• drain
• fain
• fane
• feign
• gain

Kids Definition

brain

1 of 2 noun

ˈbrān 

1

a

: the portion of the central nervous system of vertebrate animals that is the organ of thought and the central control point for the nervous system, is enclosed within the skull, and is continuous with the spinal cord

b

: the main nervous center in an invertebrate animal

2

a

: intelligence sense 1

—often used in plural

plenty of brains in that family

b

: a very intelligent person

brainlike adjective

brain

2 of 2 verb

1

: to kill by smashing the skull

2

: to hit on the head

Medical Definition

brain

noun

ˈbrān 

1

: the portion of the vertebrate central nervous system enclosed in the skull and continuous with the spinal cord through the foramen magnum that is composed of neurons and supporting and nutritive structures (as glia) and that integrates sensory information from inside and outside the body in controlling autonomic function (as heartbeat and respiration), in coordinating and directing correlated motor responses, and in the process of learning see forebrain, hindbrain, midbrain

2

: a nervous center in invertebrates comparable in position and function to the vertebrate brain