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

Katerina ‘Katy’ Puig, her classmate at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, had traumatic brain injury and is relearning how to walk after the crash. —Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 9 May 2025

Jeremy Suttie, one of the leaders of the group, broke bones in his face, fractured his neck and suffered a traumatic brain injury, his GoFundMe states. —Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 May 2025

Comments Lonnie Quinn, the meteorologist for CBS New York, is back on the air this week, after experiencing a traumatic brain injury in March. —Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 8 May 2025

Lonnie Quinn, the lead weather anchor on WCBS-TV who also appears on CBS Evening News, sustained a traumatic brain injury in March and needed roughly two months of rest in order to recover. —Rachel Raposas, People.com, 7 May 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