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

The survivor of the deadly crash, 23-year-old Scottsdale resident Valerie Stutterheim, suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the incident. —Coleby Phillips, The Arizona Republic, 4 Apr. 2024

Ryan Corbin, Boone's charismatic son and the grandson of the legendary Pat Boone, suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2001 after falling three stories through a skylight onto a cement floor. —Tricia Despres, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024

The 60-year-old patient, who had previously suffered a traumatic brain injury, was transferred to Angola’s emergency medical unit and then to an outside hospital after he was kicked in the face by another inmate, according to a medical expert for the plaintiffs. —ProPublica, 28 Mar. 2024

When Amon was in high school, her brother suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was hit by a drunk driver. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024

They've also been used to treat brain disorders, including depression, addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder and traumatic brain injuries. —Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2024

Aponte’s mother and sister told detectives that Aponte had been diagnosed with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury after a fight in 2007, according to the warrant. —Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024

Larkin, a combat medic and instructor who taught SEALs how to breach buildings with explosives, is far from alone, with data showing 492,000 traumatic brain injuries, mostly mild concussions, in the military from 2000 to 2023. —Josh Feldman, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024

Moreover, repetitive rapid finger tapping is a common test of fine motor control of the upper extremities as well as a standard means of assessing the potential effects of neurodegenerative disease and traumatic brain injury. —Sabrina Sholts, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024

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