nurse

noun \ ˈnərs \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

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 nurse thought her pain medicine might be making her confused.

— danielle jackson, Longreads, "A Frustrating Year of Reporting on Black Maternal Health," 14 June 2018
The nurse sits in the corner at a PC entering data, or sometimes checking email or Facebook.

— matt beane, WIRED, "Robots Won't Take Your Job—But They Might Make It Boring," 14 June 2018
Doris' family would like to extend their deepest thanks to the Home Aid and Hospice nurses who provided excellent comfort and care.

— hartford courant, courant.com, "Doris Ruby Lausier," 12 June 2018
The 44-year-old emergency room nurse at Fort HealthCare works from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. a couple of nights a week.

— lori nickel, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "An active family, an odd work schedule leaves Mom with no workout routine," 12 June 2018
So teams of nurses have gone door-to-door to assess residents for symptoms.

— The Economist, "Grenfell’s long shadow," 9 June 2018
The hope was that the nurses would then identify potential candidates to prescribe the drug.

— blake ellis and melanie hicken, CNN, "Government issues warning about pill pushed on the elderly," 4 June 2018
Learn more about the nurses deal at www.chipotle.com/nurseappreciation.

— kelly tyko, USA TODAY, "Chipotle hopes nurses respond stat to its 'Code Burrito' promotion Tuesday," 2 June 2018
The acting administrator could not prove that management had evaluated the skills of four of the seven outside nurses.

— harold brubaker, Philly.com, "Pa. Health Department on McMaster death at Cathedral Village: deficient fall prevention and no resuscitation attempts," 2 June 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

nurse Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Related Words

duenna, governess;

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.

Recent Examples of nurse from the Web

SP Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays: Archer, who is nursing a fussy groin and thus might miss a start, has nonetheless righted his numbers over his last four starts, going 1-1, with a 1.14 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 24 strikeouts over 23 2/3 innings.

— lawr michaels, USA TODAY, "Fantasy baseball sizzlers, fizzlers: Matt Olson up, Cody Bellinger down," 5 June 2018
Eastlake senior Jalyn Jackson, who was nursing a strained hamstring, hit 49-3 on his second triple jump attempt to repeat as a second-place finisher.

— steve brand, sandiegouniontribune.com, "LC Canyon runner chases away cross country demons in 3,200," 3 June 2018
Iguodala is still nursing a left lateral leg contusion and had been listed as doubtful for the game.

— scooby axson, SI.com, "Klay Thompson (Ankle) Probable for Game 2; Andre Iguodala Remains Out," 3 June 2018
Ma'Khail Hilliard and AJ Labas both are nursing sore shoulders and unavailable.

— ken goe, OregonLive.com, "Goe: Can this Oregon State baseball team go the distance? Sure, why not?," 3 June 2018
Perhaps the team’s true alpha was nursing a hamstring injury on the sideline, powerless to affect the outcome.

— scott cacciola, New York Times, "Over, Easy: A Basketball Aficionado Foresees the Warriors’ Surge Past the Rockets," 29 May 2018
Reimer earned his second consecutive start in goal in place of Roberto Luongo, who was nursing a minor upper-body injury.

— matthew defranks, Sun-Sentinel.com, "With tight schedule and injured Roberto Luongo, James Reimer stepping up game," 27 Mar. 2018
Hollywood is nursing its collective hangover this morning now that the 2018 Academy Awards are over.

— chris morris, Fortune, "Oscars or Razzies: Who Made More at the Box Office," 5 Mar. 2018
But the Warriors will be without Andre Iguodala, who is nursing a leg injury and hasn't played in the last three games of the series.

— scooby axson, SI.com, "How to Watch Warriors vs. Rockets: Game 7 Live Stream, TV Channel," 28 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of nurse

Middle English nurshen to suckle, nourish, contraction of nurishen

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

nurse Synonyms

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