traumatic brain injury

noun

: an acquired brain injury caused by external force (such as a blow to the head sustained in a motor vehicle accident or fall or shrapnel or a bullet entering through the skull)

Traumatic brain injury occurs when the shock from an explosion damages neurological fibers. Soldiers may survive a blast with scarcely a cut, only to find over time that they suffer coordination and memory loss, dizziness, insomnia.

—Nancy Gibbs

An unprotected fall, especially if the player is unconscious or his opponent lands on top of him, can result in severe traumatic brain injury.

—Michael J. Stuart et al.

broadly : acquired brain injury

—abbreviation TBI

Examples of traumatic brain injury in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One of the women suffered a traumatic brain injury. —Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 3 Sep. 2025

That generally includes people with dementia, traumatic brain injuries or other events in their life preventing their ability to manage their decisions, said Lee Pullen, director of Aging & Disability Services for San Mateo County Health. —Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2025

The blast claimed his left leg, left an arm badly damaged, caused severe burns and inflicted a traumatic brain injury. —Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 28 Aug. 2025

Arizona passed a similar law in May, funding research on ibogaine’s effectiveness for treating veterans and those with traumatic brain injuries. —Pardis Mahdavi, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1931, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

traumatic brain injury

noun

: an acquired brain injury caused by external force (as a blow to the head sustained in a motor vehicle accident or fall or shrapnel or a bullet entering through the skull)

A soldier—or a civilian—can survive the blast without a single penetrating wound and still receive the worst diagnosis: traumatic brain injury, or TBI, the signature injury of the Iraq War.

—Michael Mason, Discover

An unprotected fall, especially if the player is unconscious or his opponent lands on top of him, can result in severe traumatic brain injury.

—Michael J. Stuart et al., USA Today

broadly : acquired brain injury

—abbreviation TBI