trauma
Americannoun
-
traumas,
plural
-
traumata
plural
-
Pathology.
-
a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident.
-
the condition produced by this; traumatism.
-
-
Psychiatry.
-
an experience that produces psychological injury or pain.
-
the psychological injury so caused.
-
noun
-
psychol a powerful shock that may have long-lasting effects
-
pathol any bodily injury or wound
-
Severe bodily injury, as from a gunshot wound or a motor vehicle accident.
-
Psychological or emotional injury caused by a deeply disturbing experience.
Usage
What does trauma mean? Trauma refers to a sudden, serious body injury or shock, as from violence or an accident, as in The car accident resulted in trauma to the arms and legs of the passenger. Trauma also refers to a serious psychological injury or emotional pain, as from being involved in a disturbing or horrible incident, as in The trauma caused by years of war still gives the soldier nightmares. Trauma is also used to refer to the specific incidents that cause both of these types of serious damage, as in The flood survivors never spoke of the trauma they experienced that day. Example: The victim suffered from internal bleeding caused by repeated trauma to the chest.
Discover More
The term is frequently used to describe an emotional shock that causes serious psychological damage.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of trauma
First recorded in 1685–95, trauma is from the Greek word traûma wound
Explanation
A trauma is a shock to the body or spirit. A car accident can cause physical trauma like broken bones while losing your dog on a walk is an emotional trauma. When you think of trauma think of blunt force. Trauma tends to come on all at once and be quite serious. Someone who experiences trauma will have either a traumatic injury or traumatic distress. Try not to use this term lightly. If you say that having to wait twenty minutes for a burger was a trauma, people will rightly accuse you of drama.
Vocabulary lists containing trauma
Touching Spirit Bear
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"High School Football"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Why I Wrote The Crucible"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
"He had a very difficult childhood," trauma expert Gabor Mate told the BBC this week.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
Assistant coroner Sarah Riley confirmed that Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rogers had identified a provisional cause of death for the couple, aged in their 50s, as 1A major impact trauma.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Even those too young to have any real-time memory of the terrorist attacks have received the trauma by osmosis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Another, also in his 20s, said he was promised trauma counselling but only had two sessions with a psychologist.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Justyce already knew about the superpredator myth—he’d stumbled upon the whole thing while trying to deal with his own profiling trauma.
From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone
That is where we break generational cycles and traumas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
They had grandparents for the kids to stay with, so they did not go—as tens of thousands do each year—into state custody, with the many attendant traumas that entails.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
The repercussions of this method still reverberate through Panettiere’s life today, with the actress musing: “I’ve often wondered whether—unintentionally—I’ve brought on my traumas because I’m wired to think they’re good for me.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
Both Clark and Mary wrestle with their individual traumas, but the specific points of their histories are explored with less interest than the Backrooms themselves.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
One of the country's least-discussed postwar problems is how frequently combat veterans bring the traumas of war back with them and are incarcerated after returning to their communities.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Absorption takes place from the inner surface of the uterus or from traumata in the genital canal.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
The principal causes of primary keratitis are traumata and infection from the conjunctiva.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 1 "Evangelical Church Conference" to "Fairbairn, Sir William" by Various
He received several head traumata and suffered from enuresis in his early life.
From The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Volume 10 by Various
We shall refer later on to those other exactly similar cases of cyclical depression which can nevertheless easily be traced back to mental traumata.
From Group Psychology and The Analysis of The Ego by Sigmund Freud
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.
