nurse

noun \ ˈnərs \

Definition of nurse

1 a :a woman who suckles an infant not her own :wet nurse

b :a woman who takes care of a young child :dry nurse

2 :one that looks after, fosters, or advises

Time is the nurse and breeder of all good.
—Shakespeare

3 :a person who cares for the sick or infirm; specifically :a licensed health-care professional who practices independently or is supervised by a physician, surgeon, or dentist and who is skilled in promoting and maintaining health — compare licensed practical nurse, registered nurse

4 a :a worker form of a social (see ¹social 4b) insect (such as an ant or a bee) that cares for the young

b :a female mammal used to suckle (see suckle 1a) the young of another

a nurse cow

See nurse defined for English-language learners

See nurse defined for kids

Examples of nurse in a Sentence

The nurse will take your blood pressure before the doctor sees you.
Nurse, may I have some water?

Recent Examples of nurse from the Web

The 3,000 people who spend their 9 to 5 at the construction engineering company’s headquarters have access to a coffee and juice bar, cafeteria, a gym, a dry cleaning service and a health center with a nurse practitioner and pharmacist on-site.

— sarah gish, kansascity, "Ten KC companies that spoil employees with unbelievable perks," 30 Aug. 2017
The Department of Health and Human Services preserves spending levels for most preparedness and response programs, including its hundreds of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other medical professionals who are now deployed to Texas.

— lisa rein, chicagotribune.com, "As agencies respond to storm, some face cuts under Trump budget proposal," 29 Aug. 2017
Occupational rules that reserve even simple tasks for nurses, like delivering an insulin shot or even putting drops into a patient’s eye, also act as a barrier against providing care workers with better training.

— eduardo porter, New York Times, "Home Health Care: Shouldn’t It Be Work Worth Doing?," 29 Aug. 2017
Over the last 24 hours, doctors and nurses arrived at the convention center to volunteer.

— carla k. johnson, The Seattle Times, "Public health dangers loom in Harvey-hit areas," 28 Aug. 2017
The same happens when a student is injured in a fall during recess, only the school nurse provides the examination.

— suzanne baker, Naperville Sun, "Big spike in District 203 concussion numbers tied to parental reporting," 26 Aug. 2017
Federal health officials called in more than 400 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals from around the nation and planned to move two 250-bed medical units to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

— carol robinson, AL.com, "Helena police searching for teen runaway missing for 2 days," 25 Aug. 2017
As a registered nurse, McKee immediately stopped to help her.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "A Stranger's Act of Kindness at a Georgia Walmart Is Going Viral," 25 Aug. 2017
But, citing Trump's positions, more than 1,100 doctors, nurses, medical students and other Ohio residents signed a public letter of concern over the choice of venue.

— Bloomberg.com, "Cleveland Clinic Will Pull Event From Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Resort," 17 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of nurse

Middle English norice, norce, nurse, from Anglo-French nurice, from Late Latin nutricia, from Latin, feminine of nutricius nourishing — more at nutritious

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

nurse Synonyms

Synonyms

babysitter, dry nurse, nanny (also nannie), nursemaid, nurser, sitter

Related Words

amah, ayah; au pair, bonne; mammy; duenna, fraulein, governess, mademoiselle

Other Job Terms

factotum, milliner, ostler, scrivener, tinker, webster, wordsmith

nurse

verb

Definition of nurse

nursed; nursing

transitive verb

1 a :to nourish at the breast :suckle

b :to take nourishment from the breast of

2 :rear, educate

3 a :to promote the development or progress of

b :to manage with care or economy

nursed the business through hard times

nursed a 1–0 lead

c :to take charge of and watch over

4 a :to care for and wait on (someone, such as a sick person)

b :to attempt to cure by care and treatment

5 :to hold in one's memory or consideration

nurse a grievance

6 a :to use, handle, or operate carefully so as to conserve energy or avoid injury or pain

nurse a sprained ankle

b :to use sparingly

c :to consume slowly or over a long period

nurse a cup of coffee

intransitive verb

1 a :to feed an offspring from the breast

b :to feed at the breast :suck

2 :to act or serve as a nurse

—

nurser

noun

See nurse defined for English-language learners

Examples of nurse in a Sentence

She is nursing her son through his illness.
The couple nursed the business through hard times.
He nursed the farm back to productivity.
The team nursed a 1–0 lead until the last inning.
The dog nursed her puppies.
The baby nursed for several months.
The puppies nursed for eight weeks.

Origin and Etymology of nurse

Middle English nurshen to suckle, nourish, contraction of nurishen

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

nurse Synonyms

Synonyms

administer (to), care (for), minister (to), mother, do for [chiefly British], look after, look out for, look to, see to, take care of, wait on (also wait upon)

Antonyms

abuse, ill-treat, ill-use, maltreat, manhandle, mishandle, mistreat, misuse

Related Words

cure, heal, remedy; doctor, treat; aid, conserve, preserve, provide (for), support; baby, coddle, mollycoddle, pamper, spoil; cater (to), humor; indulge

Near Antonyms

brush (aside or off), forget, ignore, neglect, overlook, slight

Nurse

biographical name \ ˈnərs \

Definition of Nurse

Sir Paul Maxime 1949– British geneticist

NURSE Defined for English Language Learners

nurse

noun

Definition of nurse for English Language Learners

: a person who is trained to care for sick or injured people and who usually works in a hospital or doctor's office
: a woman who is paid to take care of a young child usually in the child's home

nurse

verb

Definition of nurse for English Language Learners

: to take care of or help (someone who is sick or injured)
: to give special care or attention to (something) : to try to keep (something) from failing
: to feed (a baby or young animal) with milk from the mother's body

NURSE Defined for Kids

nurse

noun \ ˈnərs \

Definition of nurse for Students

1 :a person skilled or trained in caring for sick or injured people

2 :a woman employed for the care of a young child

History for nurse

The English word nurse can be traced back to a Latin word nutricius that meant “nourishing” or “feeding.” In the past some mothers did not feed their babies at their own breasts but hired someone else to do so. The English word nurse was first used for such a woman. Later it came to be used for any woman hired to take care of a young child. The word nurse is also used now for a person who takes care of sick or injured people.

nurse

verb

Definition of nurse for Students

nursed; nursing

1 :to feed at the breast :suckle

2 :to take care of (as a young child or a sick person)

She nursed me back to health.

3 :to treat with special care or attention

Nurse that ankle until it's all healed.

Medical Dictionary

nurse

noun \ ˈnərs \

medical Definition of nurse

1 :a woman who suckles an infant not her own :wet nurse

2 :a person who cares for the sick or infirm; specifically :a licensed health-care professional who practices independently or is supervised by a physician, surgeon, or dentist and who is skilled in promoting and maintaining health — see licensed practical nurse, licensed vocational nurse, registered nurse