brain

I UK [breɪn] / US noun
Word forms "brain":
singular brain plural brains
***

1) [countable] the organ inside your head that allows you to think and feel, and controls your body

The human brain is divided into two halves.

The illness had affected his brain.

a) [only before noun] belonging to or connected with the brain

a brain tumour/scan/operation

brain activity/function

b) brains

[plural] the brain of an animal cooked and eaten as food

2)

a) [countable, often plural] mental ability or intelligence

She felt that she could almost see his brain working.

You have to use your brains in this job.

have brains/a brain (= be intelligent):

He's good-looking, and he's got brains.

b) [countable] an intelligent person

The best brains in the country have failed to solve this problem.

•

beat/bash someone's brains out — informal to kill or badly injure someone by hitting their head very hard

rack your brain(s) — to try very hard to remember something or to solve a problem

I've racked my brain, but I just can't remember his name.

- the brains behind something

- the brains of something

- have something on the brain

See:

blow I, pick I

II UK [breɪn] / US verb [transitive]
Word forms "brain":
present tense I/you/we/they brain he/she/it brains present participle braining past tense brained past participle brained informal

to hit someone very hard on the head