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
Christian Clark, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Obviously, coming off the MCL sprain last year, obviously, the foot has kind of given me a little problem from time to time throughout the course of the last few seasons.
—Ricardo Klein, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Christian Clark, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Finally, Alt sprained his right ankle in the first quarter of the Chargers’ loss to the Giants.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sprain
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Noun
In February, Gafford suffered a right knee sprain, which sidelined him for 21 games.
—Christian Clark, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Obviously, coming off the MCL sprain last year, obviously, the foot has kind of given me a little problem from time to time throughout the course of the last few seasons.
—Ricardo Klein, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
Center Daniel Gafford sprained his ankle in the Mavericks’ first practice of training camp and is expected to miss two to three weeks, coach Jason Kidd said.
—Christian Clark, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Finally, Alt sprained his right ankle in the first quarter of the Chargers’ loss to the Giants.
—Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 29 Sep. 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 8 Oct. 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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