bruise

American  

[brooz] / bruz /

verb (used with object)

bruised, bruising

1. to injure by striking or pressing, without breaking the skin.

   The blow bruised his arm. Her pinching bruised the peaches.

2. to injure or hurt slightly, as with an insult or unkind remark.

   to bruise a person's feelings.

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

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

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verb (used without object)

bruised, bruising

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

2. to become injured slightly.

   His feelings bruise easily.

noun

1. an injury due to bruising; contusion.

bruise British  

/ bruːz /

verb

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

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

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

4. to crush (food, etc) by pounding or pressing

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noun

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

Other Word Forms

• unbruised adjective

Etymology

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

Explanation

If you're just learning to skateboard, you’ve probably got an ugly bruise or two to show for it — those purple and yellow patches you get on your skin where you’ve bumped and scraped. They probably hurt, too! You can find bruises at the grocery store, too — those soft, mushy spots on a peach or an apple — and if you drop a tomato, you're likely to bruise it. You can bruise your knee or bruise someone's feelings — if you tell your friend you don't like her novel, you’ll bruise her ego.

Example Sentences

Despite his insistence that he was healthy fairly soon after he suffered a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise March 15, Antetokounmpo didn’t play in the last 15 games of the season.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

In the early days after injury, a hematoma or bruise develops at the fracture site.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic had not played since suffering a bone bruise in the left knee he hyperextended in a game against Miami on December 29.

From Barron's • Jan. 31, 2026

“A bruise is internal bleeding. But it can also be something serious. We do know that the ICE agent walked away from the incident — we have that on camera.”

From Salon • Jan. 16, 2026

“I don’t wanna be here,” the boy said, giving the heavy front desk a good kick, which did not hurt the desk but did bruise his toe.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

• bang up
• batter
• blacken
• crush
• injure
• mar
• wound