I. nurse 1 S2 W3 /nɜːs $ nɜːrs/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ nurse , ↑ nursery , ↑ nursing ; verb : ↑ nurse ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: nurice , from Latin nutricius ; ⇨ ↑ nutritious ]
1 . someone whose job is to look after people who are ill or injured, usually in a hospital:
The nurse is coming to give you an injection.
The school nurse sent Sara home.
a male nurse
a senior nurse
a student nurse (=someone who is learning to be a nurse)
a psychiatric nurse (=a nurse for people who are mentally ill)
a community nurse
⇨ ↑ district nurse , ↑ staff nurse
2 . old-fashioned a woman employed to look after a young child SYN nanny
⇨ ↑ nursery nurse , ↑ wet nurse
II. nurse 2 BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ nurse , ↑ nursery , ↑ nursing ; verb : ↑ nurse ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: nursh 'to nourish' (14-16 centuries) , from nourish ; influenced by ⇨ ↑ nurse 1 ]
1 . SICK PEOPLE
a) [transitive] to look after someone who is ill or injured:
He’s been nursing an elderly relative.
After Ray’s operation, Mrs Stallard nursed him back to health.
b) [intransitive usually in progressive] to work as a nurse:
She spent several years nursing in a military hospital.
2 . REST [transitive not in passive] to rest when you have an illness or injury so that it will get better:
Shaw has been nursing an injury, and will not play on Sunday.
3 . FEED A BABY
a) [intransitive and transitive] old-fashioned if a woman nurses a baby, she feeds it with milk from her breasts SYN breast-feed :
information on nutrition for nursing mothers
b) [intransitive] if a baby nurses, it sucks milk from its mother’s breast
4 . YOUR FEELINGS [transitive not in passive] to keep a feeling or idea in your mind for a long time, especially an angry feeling
nurse a grudge/grievance/ambition etc
For years he had nursed a grievance against his former employer.
5 . TAKE CARE OF SOMETHING [transitive] to take special care of something, especially during a difficult situation
nurse something through/along etc
He bought the hotel in 1927 and managed to nurse it through the Depression.
6 . DRINK [transitive] informal if you nurse a drink, especially an alcoholic one, you drink it very slowly:
Oliver sat at the bar, nursing a bottle of beer.
7 . HOLD [transitive] literary to hold something carefully in your hands or arms close to your body:
a child nursing a kitten
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ take care of somebody ( also look after somebody especially British English ) to make sure a child or an old or sick person is safe and has the things they need:
I have to look after my little brother.
|
Taking care of a baby is hard work.
|
She is taking care of her grandmother while her grandfather is in hospital.
▪ care for somebody to take care of someone. Care for somebody is less common and more formal than take care of/look after somebody :
He was cared for by a team of nurses.
|
Caring for an elderly relative can be very rewarding.
▪ nurse to look after someone who is ill:
He nursed his wife through a long illness.
|
The monks nursed him back to health (=looked after him until he was well again) .
▪ babysit to look after children in the evening while their parents go out somewhere:
I’ll ask Jane to babysit on Wednesday night.
|
He used to babysit for Mary when she worked nights.
▪ mind British English to look after a child while their parents are not there, especially for a short time:
Will you mind the baby while I go to the shop?