nerve

Word family  noun nerve nerves nervousness adjective nervous nerveless nerve-racking nervy unnerving verb nerve unnerve adverb nervously

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Biology, Psychology, psychiatry

nerve1 /nɜːv $ nɜːrv/ ●●○ S3 W3 noun  1  WORRIED FEELINGS 担心的情绪nerves [plural]NERVOUS a) used to talk about someone being worried or frightened 焦虑；恐惧somebody’s nerves are on edge/in tatters/frayed (=someone feels very worried or frightened) 某人非常焦虑[恐惧]calm/steady your nerves (=stop yourself feeling worried or frightened) 定神/稳住情绪 Sean drank a large glass of brandy to calm his nerves. 肖恩喝了一大杯白兰地，好让自己定定神。be a bundle/bag of nerves (=be extremely worried or frightened) 极度焦虑[恐惧] I remember you were a bundle of nerves on your wedding day. 我记得你在婚礼那天紧张极了。 b) the feeling of being worried or a little frightened 紧张[担心]的情绪 A lot of people suffer from nerves before they go on stage. 很多人登台之前都觉得紧张。 ‘What’s wrong with Rachel?’ ‘It’s just nerves. She’s got her driving test tomorrow.’ “蕾切尔怎么啦？”“只是紧张，她明天要参加驾驶考试。exam/first-night etc nerves 考试/首场演出等的紧张2  body part 身体部分 [countable]HBMP nerves are parts inside your body which look like threads and carry messages between the brain and other parts of the body 神经 a condition which affects the nerves in the back 影响背部神经的疾病trapped nerve British English, pinched nerve American English (=a nerve that has been crushed between two muscles etc, causing pain) 被压迫的神经3  courage 勇气 [uncountable]BRAVE courage and confidence in a dangerous, difficult, or frightening situation 镇定；勇气；意志力the nerve to do something Not many people have the nerve to stand up and speak in front of a large audience. 不是很多人都有勇气站在一大群人面前讲话。 She finally found the nerve to tell him she wanted a divorce. 她终于鼓起勇气告诉他自己想离婚。 It takes a lot of nerve to report a colleague for sexual harassment. 要举报同事的性骚扰行为需要很大的勇气。lose your nerve (=suddenly become very nervous so that you cannot do what you intended to do) 失去勇气 Jensen would’ve won if he hadn’t lost his nerve. 詹森要不是气馁，就能赢了。hold/keep your nerve (=remain calm in a difficult situation) 保持镇静 It’s hard to keep your nerve when people keep interrupting you. 不断被人干扰时你很难保持镇静。4  get on somebody’s nerves informalANNOY if someone gets on your nerves, they annoy you, especially by doing something all the time 烦扰某人；使某人心神不定 She’s always moaning. It really gets on my nerves. 她老是在哼哼唧唧的，真令我心烦。5  lack of respect 缺乏尊敬 [singular] spoken if you say someone has a nerve, you mean that they have done something unsuitable or impolite, without seeming to be embarrassed about behaving in this way 厚颜；鲁莽；冒失 SYN cheek He’s got a nerve asking for more money. 他居然有脸要更多的钱。 ‘She didn’t say sorry or anything.’ ‘What a nerve!’ 她没有说任何道歉的话。”“真不要脸！”have the nerve to do something She lets me do all the work, and then she has the nerve to criticize my cooking. 所有的活儿她都让我来干，然后竟还有脸挑剔我的厨艺。6  touch/hit a (raw) nerve to mention something that makes someone upset, angry, or embarrassed, especially accidentally 〔尤指无心地〕触到敏感话题；触到痛处 Without realizing, he had touched a raw nerve. 无意间他触到了别人的痛处。7  nerves of steel the ability to be brave and calm in a dangerous or difficult situation 坚强的意志；沉着冷静 The job requires nerves of steel. 做这份工作需要有坚强的意志。 → strain every nerve at strain2(6)n COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: verbscalm/steady somebody's nerves (=make someone feel less worried or nervous)She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves.settle/soothe somebody's nerves (=make someone feel less worried or nervous)She hoped that a cup of tea would soothe her nerves.suffer from nerves (=often feel worried or nervous)He suffered from nerves and could no longer perform on stage.your nerves jangle (=you feel extremely nervous or worried)Suddenly she was wide awake, her nerves jangling.NOUN + nerves exam nervesQuite a few of the students suffered from exam nerves.first-night nerves (=before the first night of a performance)She always suffered from first-night nerves.phrasessomebody's nerves are on edge (=they feel nervous or worried about what might happen)His nerves were on edge as he entered the dark room.somebody's nerves are tattered/frayed/shattered (=they feel very nervous or worried)Everyone's nerves were frayed by the end of the week.somebody's nerves are stretched (to breaking point) (=they feel very nervous or worried)Her nerves were stretched almost to breaking point as she waited.be a bag/bundle of nerves (=to feel extremely nervous or worried)I was a bag of nerves during the interview.be shaking with nerves (=to be extremely nervous)Just before the audition he was shaking with nerves.be in a state of nerves (=to be in a nervous condition)She was in such a state of nerves that she jumped at every noise.an attack of nerves (=a time when you feel very nervous)Harrison had an attack of nerves before the match.n COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 3: courage and confidence in a dangerous, difficult, or frightening situationverbshave the nerve to do somethingI just didn't have the nerve to tell them the truth.find the nerve to do somethingHe couldn't find the nerve to ask her out.hold/keep your nerve (=remain calm and confident in a difficult situation)The team held their nerve and went on to win.lose your nerve (=suddenly lose the courage or confidence to do something)I wanted to ask him the question, but I lost my nerve.test somebody's nerve (=test whether someone will have the courage to do something difficult)The next few days would test their nerve to the limit.somebody's nerve fails (him/her) (=someone suddenly loses the courage or confidence to do something)At the last moment, her nerve failed her.somebody's nerve breaks (=someone loses the courage to do something or continue something)The police hoped his nerve would break and he'd give himself away.phrasesit takes nerve to do something (=something requires a lot of courage or confidence)It takes nerve to stand up for what you believe.a failure/loss of nerve (=a situation in which someone lacks the courage to do something)They accused the government of a loss of nerve.

Examples from the Corpus

nerve• I injured a nerve in my foot playing volleyball.• All nerve fibres and terminals present seemed normal in number and morphology.• Hypothyroidism may affect equilibrium by its effect on the eighth cranial nerve and on the peripheral nerves.• You got a lot of nerve.• It takes a lot of nerve to report a colleague for sexual harassment.• In a scary situation like that you need someone with plenty of nerve.• This is not only simplistic but it is even ignorant of pain-provoking peripheral nerve fibres now known to exist in man.• After a three day siege the kidnapper's nerve failed and he gave himself up to the police.• Chiropractic Practitioners deal with the structural relationships between the nerve tissues and the spinal column.• The Sporting News recently had the nerve to name Woods the most powerful man in all of sports.• But too much plaid gets on the nerves.• Finally I got up the nerve to check him into the state treatment center up north.trapped nerve• The strong-running Kiwi has been out for around five weeks after a trapped nerve in his back.• But I've now got a trapped nerve in my neck.• The plaintiff suffered a trapped nerve after a hernia operation.• She consulted the defendant specialist who performed an operation to free the trapped nerve.the nerve to do something• Besides, Meriwether was probably the only trader with both the cash and the nerve to play.• Only one investor found the nerve to find fault with what the vast majority considered to be an excellent performance in 1991.• All that property he own and had the nerve to get mad when I bought this.• Back in 1988 he had the nerve to raise interest rates on the eve of the Republican convention.• Now he had the nerve to go back on his word.• This party had the nerve to announce his shameful embarrassments to all the world!• The Sporting News recently had the nerve to name Woods the most powerful man in all of sports.• Yet, even knowing this, it was a strain on the nerves to watch that giant globe ballooning minute by minute.got a nerve• The hon. Gentleman has got a nerve.• He's got a nerve to make such comments, Lucy told herself crossly.• She's got a nerve, banging on at me about not caring.nerve2 verb  nerve yourself to do something/for something BRAVEto force yourself to be brave enough to do something 鼓起勇气做某事 The parachutist nerved himself for the jump. 跳伞者鼓足勇气准备往下跳。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

nerve• All the way home, pedalling furiously, she had been nerving herself for this confrontation.• Ruth clenched her hands inside her cloak, nerving herself to follow him; but it was Fand who didn't move.Origin nerve1 (1300-1400) Latin nervus

nerve1 noun →n COLLOCATIONS1 →n COLLOCATIONS2nerve2 verbLDOCE OnlineChinese  

used to Corpus being someone talk worried about

nerve

I

nerve¹ S3 W3 /nɜːv $ nɜːrv/ noun1.  WORRIED FEELINGS nerves [plural]
  a. used to talk about someone being worried or frightened
    sb’s nerves are on edge/in tatters/frayed (=someone feels very worried or frightened)
    calm/steady your nerves (=stop yourself feeling worried or frightened)
    Sean drank a large glass of brandy to calm his nerves.
    be a bundle/bag of nerves (=be extremely worried or frightened)
    I remember you were a bundle of nerves on your wedding day.
  b. the feeling of being worried or a little frightened:
    A lot of people suffer from nerves before they go on stage.
    ‘What’s wrong with Rachel?’ ‘It’s just nerves. She’s got her driving test tomorrow.’
    exam/first-night etc nerves
2.  BODY PART  [countable] nerves are parts inside your body which look like threads and carry messages between the brain and other parts of the body:
    a condition which affects the nerves in the back
    trapped nerve British English pinched nerve American English (=a nerve that has been crushed between two muscles etc, causing pain)
3.  COURAGE  [uncountable] courage and confidence in a dangerous, difficult, or frightening situation
    the nerve to do something
    Not many people have the nerve to stand up and speak in front of a large audience.
    She finally found the nerve to tell him she wanted a divorce.
    It takes a lot of nerve to report a colleague for sexual harassment.
    lose your nerve (=suddenly become very nervous so that you cannot do what you intended to do)
    Jensen would’ve won if he hadn’t lost his nerve.
    hold/keep your nerve (=remain calm in a difficult situation)
    It’s hard to keep your nerve when people keep interrupting you.
4. get on sb’s nerves informal if someone gets on your nerves, they annoy you, especially by doing something all the time:
    She’s always moaning. It really gets on my nerves.
5.  LACK OF RESPECT  [singular] spoken if you say someone has a nerve, you mean that they have done something unsuitable or impolite, without seeming to be embarrassed about behaving in this way
   SYN  cheek:
    He’s got a nerve asking for more money.
    ‘She didn’t say sorry or anything.’ ‘What a nerve!’
    have the nerve to do something
    She lets me do all the work, and then she has the nerve to criticize my cooking.
6. touch/hit a (raw) nerve to mention something that makes someone upset, angry, or embarrassed, especially accidentally:
    Without realizing, he had touched a raw nerve.
7. nerves of steel the ability to be brave and calm in a dangerous or difficult situation:
    The job requires nerves of steel.
⇨ strain every nerve at strain²(6)
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meaning 1)

■ verbs
   ▪ calm/steady somebody's nerves (=make someone feel less worried or nervous) She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves.
   ▪ settle/soothe somebody's nerves (=make someone feel less worried or nervous) She hoped that a cup of tea would soothe her nerves.
   ▪ suffer from nerves (=often feel worried or nervous) He suffered from nerves and could no longer perform on stage.
   ▪ your nerves jangle (=you feel extremely nervous or worried) Suddenly she was wide awake, her nerves jangling.
■ NOUN + nerves
   ▪ exam nerves Quite a few of the students suffered from exam nerves.
   ▪ first-night nerves (=before the first night of a performance) She always suffered from first-night nerves.
■ phrases
   ▪ somebody's nerves are on edge (=they feel nervous or worried about what might happen) His nerves were on edge as he entered the dark room.
   ▪ somebody's nerves are tattered/frayed/shattered (=they feel very nervous or worried) Everyone's nerves were frayed by the end of the week.
   ▪ somebody's nerves are stretched (to breaking point) (=they feel very nervous or worried) Her nerves were stretched almost to breaking point as she waited.
   ▪ be a bag/bundle of nerves (=to feel extremely nervous or worried) I was a bag of nerves during the interview.
   ▪ be shaking with nerves (=to be extremely nervous) Just before the audition he was shaking with nerves.
   ▪ be in a state of nerves (=to be in a nervous condition) She was in such a state of nerves that she jumped at every noise.
   ▪ an attack of nerves (=a time when you feel very nervous) Harrison had an attack of nerves before the match.
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meaning 3)

■ verbs
   ▪ have the nerve to do something I just didn't have the nerve to tell them the truth.
   ▪ find the nerve to do something He couldn't find the nerve to ask her out.
   ▪ hold/keep your nerve (=remain calm and confident in a difficult situation) The team held their nerve and went on to win.
   ▪ lose your nerve (=suddenly lose the courage or confidence to do something) I wanted to ask him the question, but I lost my nerve.
   ▪ test somebody's nerve (=test whether someone will have the courage to do something difficult) The next few days would test their nerve to the limit.
   ▪ somebody's nerve fails (him/her) (=someone suddenly loses the courage or confidence to do something) At the last moment, her nerve failed her.
   ▪ somebody's nerve breaks (=someone loses the courage to do something or continue something) The police hoped his nerve would break and he'd give himself away.
■ phrases
   ▪ it takes nerve to do something (=something requires a lot of courage or confidence) It takes nerve to stand up for what you believe.
   ▪ a failure/loss of nerve (=a situation in which someone lacks the courage to do something) They accused the government of a loss of nerve.

II

nerve² verbnerve yourself to do something/for something to force yourself to be brave enough to do something:
    The parachutist nerved himself for the jump.