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 promise of building wealth slowly and sensibly feels more fantastical than ever for many people, as more households feel the brunt of rising costs and tightening budgets.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
Many small and midsize Canadian business owners producing everything from honey to art to cosmetics are expected to bear the brunt of the pain from President Trump’s new tariffs, the Journal’s Amanda Coletta writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
“U.S. sellers and exporters, such as farmers, will have lower sales in Canada, and some sectors of the economy will hurt badly and bear the brunt of the pain,” Sohn said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Still, equities struggled as tech firms once again bore the brunt of selling, tracking a retreat in their counterparts on Wall Street.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
He couldn’t leave his siblings and his mother behind to bear the brunt of “Reverend Rambo,” as he and his sisters jokingly called him.
From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley
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.
