nurse
Americannoun
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nurses
plural
-
a person formally educated and trained in the care of the sick or infirm.
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a woman who has the general care of a child or children; dry nurse.
-
a woman employed to suckle an infant; wet nurse.
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any fostering agency or influence.
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Entomology. a worker that attends the young in a colony of social insects.
-
Billiards. the act of maintaining the position of billiard balls in preparation for a carom.
verb (used with object)
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nurses,
present (3rd person singular)
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nursed,
past participle, past
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nursing
present participle
-
to tend or minister to in sickness, infirmity, etc.
- Antonyms:
- neglect
-
to try to cure (an ailment) by taking care of oneself.
to nurse a cold.
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to look after carefully so as to promote growth, development, etc.; foster; cherish.
to nurse one's meager talents.
- Antonyms:
- neglect
-
to treat or handle with adroit care in order to further one's own interests.
to nurse one's nest egg.
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to use, consume, or dispense very slowly or carefully.
He nursed the one drink all evening.
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to keep steadily in mind or memory.
He nursed a grudge against me all the rest of his life.
-
to suckle (an infant).
-
to feed and tend in infancy.
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to bring up, train, or nurture.
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to clasp or handle carefully or fondly.
to nurse a plate of food on one's lap.
-
Billiards. to maintain the position of (billiard balls) for a series of caroms.
verb (used without object)
-
nurses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
nursed,
past participle, past
-
nursing
present participle
-
to suckle a child, especially one's own.
-
(of a child) to suckle.
The child did not nurse after he was three months old.
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to act as nurse; tend the sick or infirm.
noun
-
a person who tends the sick, injured, or infirm
-
short for nursemaid
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a woman employed to breast-feed another woman's child; wet nurse
-
a worker in a colony of social insects that takes care of the larvae
verb
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(also intr) to tend (the sick)
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(also intr) to feed (a baby) at the breast; suckle
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to try to cure (an ailment)
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to clasp carefully or fondly
she nursed the crying child in her arms
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(also intr) (of a baby) to suckle at the breast (of)
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to look after (a child) as one's employment
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to attend to carefully; foster, cherish
he nursed the magazine through its first year
having a very small majority he nursed the constituency diligently
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to harbour; preserve
to nurse a grudge
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billiards to keep (the balls) together for a series of cannons
Usage
What does nurse mean? A nurse is someone who has been formally trained and educated to tend to the sick and infirm, as in The nurse double-checked the dosage of drugs the cancer patient was receiving. Related to this sense, nurse can be used to mean to tend to a person who is sick, infirm, or injured, as in The father nursed his daughter while she was sick with chickenpox. Nurse can also mean to take care of oneself to try to cure something, as in Jonah was nursing a cold last week. Nurse is also used to mean to breast-feed a baby, as in The mother cat nursed her litter of kittens. And nurse can mean to look after something carefully or to cherish something, as in Pat nursed her new company through the recession. Example: My brother went to school to be a nurse and is now working at the local hospital.
Synonym Usage
Nurse, nourish, nurture may be used almost interchangeably to refer to bringing up the young. Nurse, however, suggests attendance and service; nourish emphasizes providing whatever is needful for development; and nurture suggests tenderness and solicitude in training mind and manners.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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nursesimple
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nursessimple
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have nursedperfect
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has nursedperfect
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am nursingprogressive
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are nursingprogressive
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is nursingprogressive
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have been nursingperfect progressive
-
has been nursingperfect progressive
Past
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nursedsimple
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had nursedperfect
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was nursingprogressive
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were nursingprogressive
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had been nursingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of nurse
First recorded before 1350–1400; (noun) Middle English, variant of n(o)urice, norice, from Old French, from Late Latin nūtrīcia, noun use of feminine of Latin nūtrīcius nutritious; (verb) earlier nursh (reduced form of nourish ), assimilated to the noun
Explanation
A nurse is a trained healthcare worker who takes care of sick people. To nurse is to take care of, like if you nurse a baby bird back to health. To become a nurse, you have to go to college and study subjects like anatomy and nutrition. Some nurses assist doctors and perform tasks like bathing patients, taking blood samples, or giving medication. When you use the word nurse as a verb, it means "care for," and also "breastfeed a baby." The Latin root, nutrire, means "to nourish." To nurse a drink is to drink it slowly, and to nurse an idea is to mull it over.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Gen Z lumps together a 29-year-old nurse with a mortgage and a 14-year-old who still needs a ride to soccer practice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Goldsmith, a children's nurse and health visitor from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, said that when Phoebe was born four years ago, she realised within days that something was wrong.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
He will likely have his personal nurse Massimiliano Strappetti, who looked after Leo's predecessor Francis during several stays at the Gemelli hospital before his death last year.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
This anatomical development helped make it possible to swallow while maintaining the ability to breathe, an essential adaptation for mammals that nurse their young.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
He scribbled furiously with his pencil to find exactly how many baby nurse interviews could fit into one afternoon, otherwise known as the afternoon/baby nurse problem.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
"Our hope is that they would be equipped with oxygen, nurses, and everything needed. So, if there are children who fall ill, they can be treated there. That's what we really want."
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
"When someone is diagnosed with FH, their relatives are contacted and offered testing by a team of specialist nurses who cover all of Northern Ireland," a spokesperson said.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
They scheduled and attended appointments, helped coordinate transportation and childcare, communicated with doctors and nurses, and helped patients make sense of complicated medical information.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
Thomas said GP numbers in Wales had "almost flat-lined" while the workload had increased, especially in more disadvantaged areas where there were "fewer doctors, fewer nurses and the healthcare needs are much greater".
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Sala creeps down the ladder while the nurses listen to the news broadcasts on the radio.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Rhossi the Kemp's ridley sea turtle was found close to death in December 2023, and has been nursed back to health by staff at the Anglesey Sea Zoo.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
She nursed a swollen ankle after falling in the evacuation centre.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
While my mom nursed her post-prandial local beer, my kid and I went for a leisurely stroll through a nearby park.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025
They don't need to: the pups will happily take turns being nursed from the same mammary gland, and this devoted and well-cared-for mother spends plenty of time with each of her many, many beloved children.
From Salon ● May 11, 2025
To the naked eye the Ghiscari looked more formidable than the Yunkish slave soldiers, but Tyrion nursed doubts.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Anderson tries to summon in “Patti 209,” a creaky bit of science fiction about a high-tech nursing home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
By supporting effective nursing, this adaptation provided an important survival advantage.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
Kessler, the Lakers’ big acquisition at center from the Utah Jazz, has been nursing a finger injury he sustained after hitting the backboard during practice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
He steers clear of healthcare providers or nursing homes catering to aging populations — “basically a fast-maturing and bad hedge to inflation” that won’t easily pass on rising costs to those residents.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
I had to go to work at the nursing home the next day—I was on morning shifts that weekend—and so Karl had to come too.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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