I. pain 1 S2 W2 /peɪn/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ pained , ↑ painful ≠ ↑ painless ; verb : ↑ pain ; noun : ↑ pain ; adverb : ↑ painfully ≠ ↑ painlessly ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: peine , from Latin poena , from Greek poine 'payment, punishment' ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] the feeling you have when part of your body hurts:
The pain is getting worse.
pain in
She felt a sharp pain in her leg.
Greg was in a lot of pain.
⇨ ↑ growing pains (2)
2 . [uncountable and countable] the feeling of unhappiness you have when you are sad, upset etc:
the pain and grief of bereavement
cause (somebody) pain/inflict pain on somebody
She hated to say the words, for fear of causing pain.
3 . be a pain (in the neck) ( also be a pain in the ass/arse/backside/butt not polite ) spoken to be very annoying:
There were times when Joe could be a real pain in the neck.
It’s a pain, having to go upstairs to make the coffee every time.
4 . take/go to (great) pains to do something ( also take pains with/over something ) to make a special effort to do something:
He’s taken great pains to improve his image.
5 . be at pains to do something to be especially careful to make sure people understand what you are saying or what you plan to do:
Roy was at pains to point out that English was the only exam he’d ever failed.
6 . for your pains as a reward for something you worked to achieve – used especially when this is disappointing:
I fetched the file, and all I got for my pains was a dirty look from Simon.
7 . no pain, no gain used to say that you can only achieve something, for example become fitter, by suffering or working hard
8 . on/under pain of death at the risk of being killed as punishment, if you do not obey:
Communist activity was prohibited on pain of death.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ bad
Later that evening, the pain was really bad.
▪ terrible/awful
I woke up with a terrible pain in my side.
▪ severe/intense
Ever since the accident, Mike’s suffered from severe back pain.
▪ excruciating (=very severe)
The pain in my eye was excruciating.
▪ a sharp pain (=short but severe)
She felt a sharp pain in the back of her throat.
▪ a slight pain (=not severe)
I’ve got a slight pain in my side.
▪ a dull pain (=a slight but continuous pain)
There was a dull pain in his lower jaw.
▪ a nagging pain (=felt all the time)
Rob felt fine, apart from a nagging pain in his left wrist.
▪ chronic pain (=pain that you suffer from for long periods of time)
Many of the elderly patients suffer chronic pain.
▪ a shooting pain (=a severe pain that goes from one part of your body to another)
The shooting pains in her arms and legs slowly began to die away.
▪ a searing pain (=very severe, as if you have been burnt)
His elbow struck the side of the table, sending a searing pain through his arm.
▪ a stabbing pain (=sharp and sudden)
Marcus heard a shot and felt a stabbing pain at the back of his ankle.
▪ a throbbing pain (=a pain that gets stronger and then weaker, in a steady continuous beat)
I’ve still got this throbbing pain in my leg.
▪ back/chest/stomach etc pain
Many people suffer from back pain.
▪ abdominal pain
Several of the hotel’s guests had persistent abdominal pain and diarrhoea.
▪ physical pain
He couldn’t stand physical pain.
▪ labour pains British English , labor pains American English (=felt by a woman at the time she is having a baby)
Becky was at work when labour pains began.
■ verbs
▪ have a pain
I’ve got a terrible pain in my stomach.
▪ feel pain
The dentist told me that I wouldn’t feel any pain.
▪ be in pain
Despite being in great pain, he managed to call for help.
▪ suffer (from) pain
She suffers from chronic pain in her legs.
▪ inflict pain
The guards enjoyed inflicting pain on them.
▪ relieve/ease pain ( also alleviate pain formal ) (=make it less severe)
Exercise can help to relieve lower back pain.
▪ experience pain formal
Animals caught in the trap experience great pain before they die.
▪ complain of pain (=say that you have a pain in a part of your body)
After we finished our run, Tom complained of pains in his chest.
▪ the pain gets worse
If the pain gets any worse, see your doctor.
▪ the pain goes away ( also the pain subsides formal ) (=becomes less severe)
He lay still until the pain had subsided to a dull ache.
▪ the pain comes and goes (=keeps starting and stopping)
The pain comes and goes but it’s never too severe.
■ pain + NOUN
▪ pain relief (=a drug or treatment that makes pain less severe)
These drugs offer effective pain relief for the very sick.
▪ sb’s pain threshold (=their ability to bear pain)
Everyone has a different pain threshold.
■ phrases
▪ aches and pains
Everyone has a few aches and pains when they get older.
■ COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say ' big pain '. Say terrible pain or severe pain .
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ pain noun [uncountable and countable] the feeling when part of your body hurts:
A broken leg can cause a lot of pain.
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He felt a sharp pain in his chest.
▪ ache noun [uncountable and countable] a continuous pain, especially one that is not very bad. Most commonly used in compounds such as headache , toothache , and backache :
I felt an ache in my back after decorating all day.
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Driving gives me a headache.
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I’ve got stomach ache.
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Do you have earache?
▪ twinge noun [countable] a sudden slight pain that comes and then disappears quickly:
When I bent down I felt a twinge in my back.
▪ discomfort noun [uncountable] formal an uncomfortable feeling in your body, or a slight pain:
The procedure takes five minutes and only causes slight discomfort.
▪ agony noun [uncountable] a feeling of great pain, or a situation in which you feel a lot of pain:
the agony of childbirth
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I was in agony by the time I got to the hospital.
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It was agony (=very painful) getting up out of bed.
▪ suffering noun [uncountable] continuous physical or mental pain, which makes someone very unhappy:
I just wanted someone to put an end to my suffering.
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the suffering of the earthquake victims
II. pain 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ pained , ↑ painful ≠ ↑ painless ; verb : ↑ pain ; noun : ↑ pain ; adverb : ↑ painfully ≠ ↑ painlessly ]
it pains somebody to do something formal used to say that it is very difficult and upsetting for someone to have to do something