/ peɪn; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
—see also pains
1.
[ U , C ] the feelings that you have in your body when you have been hurt or when you are ill / sick :
a cry of pain
She was clearly in a lot of pain .
He felt a sharp pain in his knee.
patients suffering from acute back pain
stomach / chest pains
You get more aches and pains as you get older.
The booklet contains information on pain relief during labour.
This cream should help to relieve the pain .
—see also growing pains
2.
[ U , C ] mental or emotional suffering :
the pain of separation
I never meant to cause her pain.
the pleasures and pains of growing old
3.
[ C ] ( informal ) a person or thing that is very annoying :
She can be a real pain when she's in a bad mood.
It's a pain having to go all that way for just one meeting.
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IDIOMS
- no pain, no gain
- on / under pain of sth
- a pain in the neck
■ verb
(not used in the progressive tenses) ( formal ) to cause sb pain or make them unhappy
SYN hurt :
[ vn ]
She was deeply pained by the accusation.
: ( old use )
The wound still pained him occasionally.
[ vn to inf ]
It pains me to see you like this.
[also vn that ]
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (in the sense suffering inflicted as punishment for an offence ): from Old French peine , from Latin poena penalty, later pain.