brunt
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of brunt
1275–1325; Middle English; perhaps originally sexual assault; akin to Old Norse brundr, German Brunft heat, ruttish state, Old English brunetha heat, itching; cognate with Old High German bronado. See burn 1
Explanation
If you are the oldest child, you might bear the brunt of your parents' anger, even if you are not the instigator of the misdeed. Brunt means the worst part of something. When Canadian geese fly south, they travel in a V-formation, with the bird at point bearing the brunt of the headwind. One way to remember the word brunt is that words that sound like it—grunt and blunt—are also about being tough or absorbing pain.
Vocabulary lists containing brunt
Blizzard! Words to Learn on a Snow Day
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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The Diary of a Young Girl
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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.
“The blame for this disaster lies solely with GKN and the county should not be bearing the brunt of these expenses,” Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
While April-June was one of the best quarters for equities for some time, the new quarter has got off to a shaky start, with Seoul taking the brunt of the selling.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
As centers of commerce, trade, finance and dissent, they bore the brunt of the British government’s increasingly harsh laws on trade and self-governance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Larger midshipmen stay at the bottom, taking the brunt of the weight.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
Now Margot will have to bear the brunt of it.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
