Sprain
/spɹeɪn/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act or result of spraining; lameness caused by spraining
"a bad sprain of the wrist"
- 2 a painful injury to a joint caused by a sudden wrenching of its ligaments wordnet
Verb
- 1 To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation
"He sprained his knee after falling off the bicycle."
- 2 twist suddenly so as to sprain wordnet
Example
More examples"A sprain like this should heal within a week or so."
Etymology
1601, verb attested 1622. Possibly borrowed from Middle French espraindre (“to press out, to wring”), from Latin exprimere, in which case cognate to express.