bruise

[brooz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bruise ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), bruised, bruis·ing.

to injure by striking or pressing, without breaking the skin: The blow bruised his arm. Her pinching bruised the peaches.

to injure or hurt slightly, as with an insult or unkind remark: to bruise a person's feelings.

to crush (drugs or food) by beating or pounding.

Metalworking. to injure the surface of (an ingot or finished object) by collision.

verb (used without object), bruised, bruis·ing.

to develop or bear a discolored spot on the skin as the result of a blow, fall, etc.

to become injured slightly: His feelings bruise easily.

noun

an injury due to bruising; contusion.

Nearby words

Origin of bruise

before 900; Middle English bro(o)sen, bres(s)en, bris(s)en, bruisen, representing Old English brȳsan, brēsan and Anglo-French bruser, Old French bruisier, akin to briser to break; see brisance

Related formsun·bruised, adjective

Can be confusedbrews bruise

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bruise

In contrast to gentle Eva, Naps liked to draw a little blood in bed, to bruise and be bruised in return.
Tallulah Bankhead: Gay, Drunk and Liberated in an Era of Excess Art|Judith Mackrell|January 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As Obama and others press to raise the federal minimum wage about $7.25, skeptics say such a move could bruise the economy.
What Does an Increase in the Minimum Wage Do to the Economy?|Brandy Zadrozny|December 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I got a bruise in the shape of a detailed boot print etched in my back.
Interview With Canadian Filmmaker John Greyson Following His Release from Cairo's Tora Prison|Jesse Rosenfeld|October 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For the record: A bloody toe for a ballerina is like a bruise for a boxer: ho-hum.
Butchery at the Ballet|Toni Bentley|February 25, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Something triggers his temper—the push may be hard enough to make her bruise.
Hollywood's Kept Women|Gina Piccalo|October 10, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Their progress was slow, and they slept on a bed of brush which had lumps and knots to bruise every soft spot on their bodies.
Dick in the Everglades|A. W. Dimock
We set the ball rolling, others keep it up, and it runs back to bruise our own shins.
Three Plays by Brieux|Eugne Brieux
He seized the hand; there was no bruise to be seen, but he bent his head and fervently kissed the place.
The Preacher of Cedar Mountain|Ernest Thompson Seton
There are stones yonder, and you can see the bruise, said one.
The Dust of Conflict|David Goodger (goodger@python.org)
My dear Lieutenant, you will not only bruise, but break, my head with your clatter.
Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay|George Otto Trevelyan

British Dictionary definitions for bruise

bruise

verb (mainly tr)

(also intr) to injure (tissues) without breaking the skin, usually with discoloration, or (of tissues) to be injured in this way

to offend or injure (someone's feelings) by an insult, unkindness, etc

to damage the surface of (something), as by a blow

to crush (food, etc) by pounding or pressing

noun

a bodily injury without a break in the skin, usually with discoloration; contusion

Word Origin for bruise

Old English brӯsan, of Celtic origin; compare Irish brūigim I bruise

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bruise

bruise

Old English brysan "to crush, bruise, pound," from Proto-Germanic *brusjanan, from PIE root *bhreus- "to smash, crush" (cf. Old Irish bronnaim "I wrong, I hurt;" Breton brezel "war," Vulgar Latin brisare "to break"). Merged by 17c. with Anglo-French bruiser "to break, smash," from Old French bruisier "to break, shatter," perhaps from Gaulish *brus-, from the same PIE root. Related: Bruised; bruising.

bruise

1540s, from bruise (v.).

Medicine definitions for bruise

bruise

[brōōz]

n.

An injury to underlying tissues or bone in which the skin is unbroken, often characterized by ruptured blood vessels and discolorations; a contusion.

bruise

verb (used with object), bruised, bruis·ing.

verb (used without object), bruised, bruis·ing.

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of bruise

Examples from the Web for bruise

bruise

verb (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for bruise

bruise

bruise

bruise

n.