bruise
Americanverb (used with object)
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to injure by striking or pressing, without breaking the skin.
The blow bruised his arm. Her pinching bruised the peaches.
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to injure or hurt slightly, as with an insult or unkind remark.
to bruise a person's feelings.
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to crush (drugs or food) by beating or pounding.
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Metalworking. to injure the surface of (an ingot or finished object) by collision.
verb (used without object)
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to develop or bear a discolored spot on the skin as the result of a blow, fall, etc.
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to become injured slightly.
His feelings bruise easily.
noun
verb
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(also intr) to injure (tissues) without breaking the skin, usually with discoloration, or (of tissues) to be injured in this way
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to offend or injure (someone's feelings) by an insult, unkindness, etc
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to damage the surface of (something), as by a blow
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to crush (food, etc) by pounding or pressing
noun
Other Word Forms
- unbruised adjective
Etymology
Origin of bruise
before 900; Middle English bro ( o ) sen, bres ( s ) en, bris ( s ) en, bruisen, representing Old English brȳsan, brēsan and Anglo-French bruser, Old French bruisier, akin to briser to break; brisance
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.
"I did see the brain scans at the hospital and there was a lot of bruising on his brain," he said.
From BBC
It's been bruising for a company that has always looked like a winner.
From BBC
Not so for hockey: The bruising tough-guy game is Canadian in origin, and Canada is the winningest team in Olympic history.
From Los Angeles Times
After a bruising property downturn and years of economic uncertainty, families appear determined to fortify their balance sheets first — and spend later.
From MarketWatch
On a bruising day, Zimbabwe's four pace bowlers leaked 3-197 from 14 overs.
From BBC
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.
