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nerve

[ nurv ]
/ nɜrv /
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See synonyms for: nerve / nerves on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used with object), nerved, nerv·ing.
to give strength, vigor, or courage to: Encouragement had nerved him for the struggle.
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Idioms about nerve

Origin of nerve

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: “nerve, tendon,” from Latin nervus “sinew, tendon”; akin to Greek neûron (see neuron); replacing Middle English nerf, from Middle French, from Latin, as above
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nerve in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nerve

nerve
/ (nɜːv) /

noun
verb (tr)
to give courage to (oneself); steel (oneself)
to provide with nerve or nerves
See also nerves

Word Origin for nerve

C16: from Latin nervus; related to Greek neuron; compare Sanskrit snāvan sinew
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

Scientific definitions for nerve

nerve
[ nûrv ]

Any of the bundles of fibers made up of neurons that carry sensory and motor information throughout the body in the form of electrical impulses. Afferent nerves carry information to the central nervous system, and efferent nerves carry information from the central nervous system to the muscles, organs, and glands. Efferent nerves include the nerves of the peripheral nervous system, which control voluntary motor activity and of the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary motor activity.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for nerve

nerve

A bundle of fibers composed of neurons that connects the body parts and organs to the central nervous system and carries impulses from one part of the body to another.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with nerve

nerve

see bundle of nerves; get on someone's nerves; get up (one's nerve); have a nerve; lose one's nerve; of all the nerve; war of nerves.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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