nerves

British  

/ nɜːvz /

plural noun

1. the imagined source of emotional control

   my nerves won't stand it

2. anxiety, tension, or imbalance

   she's all nerves

3. a very nervous person

4. to irritate, annoy, or upset one

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Example Sentences

Brown fat relies on dense networks of nerves and blood vessels to do its job.

From Science Daily • Mar. 28, 2026

“The Pit and the Pendulum,” the first half of the program, translates especially well to this setting, its dark sense of demented confinement keeping my nerves on high alert.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Five survived to the six-month end point of the trial and their grafts had functional muscle, nerves and blood vessels.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

In the financial crisis of 2008-09, the investment bank Goldman Sachs had a secret weapon: Its CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, was a lifelong worrywart with plenty of tricks for calming his own frazzled nerves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Fact: Pavlov’s dog may have learned to salivate when hearing a ringing bell, but when a bell jingled as Dad and I entered the Brevard Animal Clinic, my poor skittish nerves were startled.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas