1
: a sudden or violent twist or wrench of a joint with stretching or tearing of ligaments
2
: a sprained condition
sprained; spraining; sprains
: to injure by a sudden or severe twist
Examples of sprain in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 13 Nov. 2025
Trae Young is out with a right MCL sprain.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 12 Nov. 2025
Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 14 Nov. 2025
Powell also played on Saturday after spraining his right ankle during Friday’s victory over the Hornets.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sprain
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Noun
But Heat players apparently didn’t get the message, even while being short-handed itself and remaining without its leading duo of Bam Adebayo (left big toe sprain) and Tyler Herro (left ankle surgery) on Wednesday.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 13 Nov. 2025
Trae Young is out with a right MCL sprain.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 12 Nov. 2025
Verb
Pacheco sprained his knee in Week 8 and has missed the past two games, and Dobbins hurt his foot last week during Denver’s win over the Raiders.
—Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 14 Nov. 2025
Powell also played on Saturday after spraining his right ankle during Friday’s victory over the Hornets.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sprain
Cite this Entry
“Sprain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sprain. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sprain
1 of 2 noun1
: a sudden or severe twisting of a joint with stretching or tearing of ligaments
2
: a condition that results from a sprain and is usually marked by pain and swelling
sprain
2 of 2 verb
: to injure by a sudden or severe twist
Medical Definition
sprain
1 of 2 noun
: a sudden or violent twist or wrench of a joint causing the stretching or tearing of ligaments and often rupture of blood vessels with hemorrhage into the tissues
also
: the condition resulting from a sprain that is usually marked by swelling, inflammation, hemorrhage, and discoloration compare strain entry 3 sense b
sprain
2 of 2 transitive verb
: to weaken (a joint or ligament) by sudden and violent twisting or wrenching : stretch (ligaments) injuriously without dislocation of the joint
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