Nerve Meaning
/nɜːv/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics.
nounA neuron.
Sentence Examples
You have a lot of nerve!
You've got a nerve to say such a thing!
CEFR Practice Quiz
She had the ____ to speak in front of the large crowd without any fear.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It takes a lot of ____ to stand up and speak in front of such a large crowd.
Word Origin & History
Recorded since circa 1374 as Middle English nerve, from Medieval Latin nervus (“nerve”), from Latin nervus (“sinew”). Doublet of neuron and sinew. Verb sense 4 (“to get on (someone’s) nerves”) is chiefly a semantic loan from German nerven.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Like her I go; I cannot stay;
I leave this mortal ark behind,
A weight of nerves without a mind,
And leave the cliffs, and haste away […]"
— 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
"“Oh?” she said. “So you have decided to revise my guest list for me? You have the nerve, the – the –” I saw she needed helping out. “Audacity,” I said, throwing her the line. “The audacity to dictate to me who I shall have in my house.” It should have been “whom”, but I let it go. “You have the –” “Crust.” “– the immortal rind,” she amended, and I had to admit it was stronger, “to tell me whom” – she got it right that time – “I may entertain at Brinkley Court and who” – wrong again – “I may not.”"
— 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XVIII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
"You got a lot of nerve / To say you are my friend / When I was down / You just stood there grinning"
— 1965, Bob Dylan, “Positively 4th Street”:
"A trip to the whistling, fire-cracking Stadio San Paolo is always a test of nerve but Wenger's men have already outplayed the Italians once."
— 2013 November 26, Daniel Taylor, The Guardian:
"Southgate's side kept their nerve and discipline in the unsettling, intimidating surroundings of Budapest, with the behaviour of Hungary's fans leaving much to be desired, to turn up the heat and punish their opponents ruthlessly once they had gone ahead."
— 2021 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Hungary 0-4 England”, in BBC:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She had the ____ to speak in front of the large crowd without any fear.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It takes a lot of ____ to stand up and speak in front of such a large crowd.