brain

CEFRA2

/ˈbɹeɪ̯n/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    The organ inside the head that controls thought and the body.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action.

Examples

  • The brain is just a complicated machine.

  • The human brain is a complex organ.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈbɹæ̝ɪ̯n/
  • /ˈbɾein/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings
  1. A part of the brain, especially associated with particular mental functions, abilities, etc.

  2. skull; head

verb

Extra meaning
  1. To dash out the brains of; to kill by smashing the skull.

More examples

In context
  • There are days where I feel like my brain wants to abandon me.

  • I have too much on my brain today.

  • "We provided a lot of brains and a lot of heart to the response when it was needed," says Sandra Sanchez, director of AFSC's Immigrants' Voice Program in Des Moines.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The surgeon carefully examined the patient's blank to locate the tumor.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Cognate with Scots braine, brane (“brain”), North Frisian brayen, brein, Brain (“brain”), Saterland Frisian Brainge, Bräienge (“brain”), West Frisian brein (“brain”), Dutch brein (“brain”), Low German Brägen, Bregen (“brain”) (whence German Bregen (“animal brain”)), Ancient Greek βρεχμός (brekhmós, “front part of the skull, top of the head”).