Bruise Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms bruise American [brooz] / bruz /

verb (used with object)

bruised, bruising

1. to injure by striking or pressing, without breaking the skin.

   The blow bruised his arm. Her pinching bruised the peaches.

2. to injure or hurt slightly, as with an insult or unkind remark.

   to bruise a person's feelings.

3. to crush (drugs or food) by beating or pounding.

4. Metalworking. to injure the surface of (an ingot or finished object) by collision.

verb (used without object)

bruised, bruising

1. to develop or bear a discolored spot on the skin as the result of a blow, fall, etc.

2. to become injured slightly.

   His feelings bruise easily.

noun

1. an injury due to bruising; contusion.

bruise British / bruːz /

verb

1. (also intr) to injure (tissues) without breaking the skin, usually with discoloration, or (of tissues) to be injured in this way

2. to offend or injure (someone's feelings) by an insult, unkindness, etc

3. to damage the surface of (something), as by a blow

4. to crush (food, etc) by pounding or pressing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. a bodily injury without a break in the skin, usually with discoloration; contusion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

He was too scared to be hungry, but-he felt bruised and stiff from the fight with Hord, and his shoulders ached from being tied up for so long.

From Literature

He drove down pension costs after a bruising battle with city unions.

From Los Angeles Times

Several of his former players were bruised by the experience.

From BBC

You can’t help rooting for Colleen Hoover heroines, bless their bruised hearts.

From Los Angeles Times

I’m smacking the heel of my shoe against the leg of my chair so hard I’ll probably have a bruise.

From Literature

Related Words

• bang up
• batter
• blacken
• crush
• injure
• mar
• wound

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.