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

Kennedi sustained a traumatic brain injury and spent the next 20 days in the hospital, 14 in intensive care. —Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 24 May 2026

And then of course my head suffered a concussion, (traumatic brain injury). —Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 19 May 2026

An autopsy determined that the baby died from a traumatic brain injury consistent with shaking, the outlets reported. —Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 12 May 2026

Falzone landed at the bottom of the stairs, suffering a traumatic brain injury, a fractured spine and a fractured rib. —Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 9 May 2026

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