/ breɪn; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
IN HEAD
1.
[ C ] the organ inside the head that controls movement, thought, memory and feeling :
damage to the brain
brain cells
She died of a brain tumour.
a device to measure brain activity during sleep
—picture at organ
FOOD
2.
brains [ pl. ] the brain of an animal, eaten as food :
sheep's brains
INTELLIGENCE
3.
[ U , C , usually pl. ] the ability to learn quickly and think about things in a logical and intelligent way :
It doesn't take much brain to work out that both stories can't be true.
Teachers spotted that he had a good brain at an early age.
You need brains as well as brawn (= intelligence as well as strength) to do this job.
—see also no-brainer
INTELLIGENT PERSON
4.
[ C , usually pl. ] ( informal ) an intelligent person :
one of the best scientific brains in the country
5.
the brains [ sing. ] the most intelligent person in a particular group; the person who is responsible for thinking of and organizing sth :
He's always been the brains of the family.
The band's drummer is the brains behind their latest venture.
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IDIOMS
- have sth on the brain
—more at beat verb , blow verb , cudgel verb , pick verb , rack verb
■ verb
[ vn ] ( informal ) to kill a person or an animal by hitting them very hard on the head
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English brægen , of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch brein .