nurse

1 of 2

noun

ˈnərs

Synonyms of nurse next

: 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

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

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

: one that looks after, fosters, or advises

Time is the nurse and breeder of all good.—

Shakespeare

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

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

a nurse cow

nurse

2 of 2

verb

nursed; nursing

transitive verb

: to nourish at the breast : suckle

: to take nourishment from the breast of

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

: to attempt to cure by care and treatment

: to manage with care or economy

nursed the business through hard times

nursed a 1–0 lead

: to promote the development or progress of

: to take charge of and watch over

: to hold in one's memory or consideration

nurse a grievance

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

nurse a sprained ankle

: to use sparingly

: to consume slowly or over a long period

nurse a cup of coffee

: rear, educate

intransitive verb

: to feed at the breast : suck

: to feed an offspring from the breast

: to act or serve as a nurse

nurser noun

Example Sentences

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Paramedic, nurse and former New York police officer Joseph Farkas, 61, has been with FRIDA Ukraine for about eight months, helping treat families in bomb shelters in towns pummeled by shelling and in villages that haven’t seen a doctor for months. —

Elena Becatoros, ajc, 20 Mar. 2023 The nephews’ descendants had lived there until the 1960s, when the final heir bequeathed it to her nurse, a relative of the butcher. —

Hussein Omar Simon Watson, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2023 Armas, in turn, supplied the former nurse and other dealers who carted the drugs further west into Seaside and other communities in Clatsop. —

Beth Warren, USA Today, 9 Mar. 2023 Blue light also worked well, but purple light with yellow goggles was most effective in detecting bruises on people with darker skin tones, said Scafide, who also worked as a forensic nurse. —

Ashley Luthern, Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2023 Klara Meliskova won the best actress award for her role as a nurse accused of murdering a patient in the drama series Suspicion. —

Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2023 Walton, a flight nurse, a flight paramedic, a patient and that's patient's relative all died in the crash, Guardian Flight confirmed. —

Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, 2 Mar. 2023 In particular, fans are keeping an eye out for something big with the show's longest-serving nurse, Trixie, who was absent for much of season 11 when the actress who plays her, Helen George, took time away to give birth to a baby of her own. —

Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, 2 Mar. 2023 Armas, in turn, supplied the former nurse and other dealers who carted the drugs further west into Seaside and other communities in Clatsop. —

Beth Warren, courier-journal.com, 27 Feb. 2023

Verb

Most alarmingly, some players reported that their wives had to sit on the floor of a public restroom to nurse their babies during games. —

Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Mar. 2023 Players from the Bengals and Jaguars noted incidents of wives having to nurse babies on public bathroom floors because the teams’ stadiums don’t have family rooms. —

Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2023 Jacksonville, along with the Bengals, drew complaints of players’ wives having to nurse their babies on the floors of public restrooms because there wasn’t a family room for them. —

Andrew Beaton, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2023 Players reported that wives have sat on the public restroom floor to nurse their babies. —

Dave Clark, The Enquirer, 2 Mar. 2023 Having to nurse your child can be totally impromptu, as The Honest Company founder proved during a day of shopping. —

Grace Gavilanes, Peoplemag, 16 Aug. 2022 Even without All-Star center Jarrett Allen, who continues to nurse a lower back contusion, the Cavs’ physicality, relentless swarming and non-stop activity seemed to frustrate the 7-footer. —

Chris Fedor, cleveland, 30 Nov. 2022 Without it, democracy will remain in peril; structural inequities will persist and Americans will continue to nurse a sense that their country works for the powerful few, not for the many — a conviction that provoked some to turn to Trumpism. —

Washington Post, 17 Sep. 2021 The lactation results were less conclusive, with half of the prairie voles able to nurse without the oxytocin receptor, researchers said. —

Ana Faguy, Forbes, 27 Jan. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nurse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

Verb

Middle English nurshen to suckle, nourish, contraction of nurishen

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of nurse was in the 13th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Nurse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nurse. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

nurse

1 of 2 noun

ˈnərs

: a woman who has the care of a young child

: a person skilled or trained in caring for the sick and in maintaining good health in those who are not sick and who works either independently or under the supervision of a physician

: a worker of a social insect (as an ant or bee) that cares for the young

nurse

2 of 2 verb

nursed; nursing

: to feed at the breast : suckle