injury

noun in·ju·ry \ ˈinj-rē , ˈin-jə- \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: injury in a Sentence

Definition of injury

plural injuries

1 a : an act that damages or hurts : wrong

b : violation of another's rights for which the law allows an action to recover damages

2 : hurt, damage, or loss sustained

See injury defined for English-language learners

See injury defined for kids

Examples of injury in a Sentence

Hikers need to take sensible precautions to prevent injury.
She's concerned about the risk of injury to her reputation.
The team has been weakened by illness and injury.
Careless use of these tools can cause serious bodily injury.
She survived the accident without injury.
She fell and suffered an injury to her arm.
His athletic career has been slowed by injuries.

Recent Examples of injury from the Web

Cuba has denied any involvement in or knowledge of what may have caused the injuries.

— Washington Post, "Cuba releases details of incident involving US official," 11 June 2018
Critics and conjecture Others have questioned the injuries themselves.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "US pulls two more from Cuba amid puzzling health cases now affecting China," 11 June 2018
Owens, a free agent from Missouri Western, had impressed coaches in offseason work before suffering the injury.

— kent somers, azcentral, "Arizona Cardinals sign safety Travell Dixon; waive Jonathan Owens," 11 June 2018
Cuba has denied any involvement in or knowledge of what may have caused the injuries.

— michael weissenstein, chicagotribune.com, "Cuba releases details of mysterious health incident involving U.S. official," 10 June 2018
Privacy - Terms Four people, all minors, had non-life threatening injuries.

— wbtv, charlotteobserver, "Four teens shot while leaving Kannapolis graduation party," 10 June 2018
The child was taken to a hospital and the injury did not appear to be life-threatening, police said.

— ian cummings and robert a. cronkleton, kansascity, "Weekend shootings in busy, public places in Kansas City area leave 1 dead, 6 injured," 10 June 2018
She was later taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

— nicole blanchard, idahostatesman, "Garden City man charged with rape after allegedly zip tying victim, police say," 10 June 2018
Miller said the injury did not prompt the discussion of safety that’s happening now.

— jean marbella, baltimoresun.com, "When football teams refuse to play an inner-city powerhouse like St. Frances, is it safety, or bias?," 9 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'injury.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of injury

Middle English injurie, from Anglo-French, Latin injuria, from injurus injurious, from in- + jur-, jus right — more at just

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

injury Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of injury

injustice, injury, wrong, grievance mean an act that inflicts undeserved hurt. injustice applies to any act that involves unfairness to another or violation of one's rights.

- the injustices suffered by the lower classes

injury applies in law specifically to an injustice for which one may sue to recover compensation.

- libel constitutes a legal injury

wrong applies also in law to any act punishable according to the criminal code; it may apply more generally to any flagrant injustice.

- determined to right society's wrongs

grievance applies to a circumstance or condition that constitutes an injustice to the sufferer and gives just ground for complaint.

- a list of employee grievances

INJURY Defined for English Language Learners

injury

noun

Definition of injury for English Language Learners

: harm or damage : an act or event that causes someone or something to no longer be fully healthy or in good condition

INJURY Defined for Kids

injury

noun in·ju·ry \ ˈin-jə-rē \

Definition of injury for Students

plural injuries

1 : hurt, damage, or loss suffered

She suffered an injury to her arm.

These tools can cause injury.

2 : an act that damages or hurts

“I should not like to do him an injury …”
—Anna Sewell, Black Beauty

Medical Dictionary

injury

noun in·ju·ry \ ˈinj-(ə-)rē \

medical Definition of injury

plural injuries

: hurt, damage, or loss sustained

Law Dictionary

injury

noun in·ju·ry

legal Definition of injury

plural injuries

1 : an act that wrongs or harms another; specifically : a violation of a legally protected interest (as the physical or mental well-being, property, reputation, or rights of another) for which the law allows an action for legal or equitable relief

2 : hurt, damage, or loss sustained