brain

noun

/breɪn/

Idioms

in head

enlarge image

[countable] the organ inside the head that controls movement, thought, memory and feeling脑

The human brain is a complex organ.人脑是一个复杂的器官。
My tired brain couldn't cope with such a complex problem.我疲劳的大脑无法应付如此复杂的问题。
She was found to have sustained a brain injury.她被发现脑部受伤。
brain cells/tissue脑细胞；脑组织
a brain tumour/haemorrhage/aneurysm脑肿瘤/出血/动脉瘤
Sometimes the doctor will also do a brain scan.有时医生也会进行脑部扫描。
brain surgery脑外科。

Extra Examples

He had a brain scan to search for possible damage.他做了个脑扫描检查是否有损伤。
He was found to have a blood clot on his brain.他的脑部发现有血块。
His brain reeled as he realized the implication of his dismissal.当意识到这是暗示要解雇他时，他的大脑一阵眩晕。
The left brain controls the right-hand side of the body.左脑控制人的右半身。
The stopping distance includes the time taken for the brain to register the need to stop.制动停车距离涵盖了大脑意识到必须停车所需要的时间。
Electrodes were used to measure brain activity during sleep.用电极来检测睡眠时脑部的活动。
Fruit eating primates have relatively larger brains than those that eat leaves.吃水果的灵长类动物比吃叶子的灵长类动物的大脑相对更大。
We want to halve stillbirths and brain injuries in newborns in the next five years.我们希望在未来五年内将新生儿的死产和脑损伤减少一半。
She died of a brain tumour.她死于脑肿瘤。
a device to measure brain activity during sleep一种测量睡眠期间大脑活动的装置
There has been some loss of brain function.大脑功能出现了一定程度的丧失。
She is Britain's youngest female brain surgeon. 她是英国最年轻的女性脑外科医生。
The scan apparently showed no damage to the brain.扫描检查清楚显示脑部没有受到损伤。

Topics Bodya2

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

human
left
right
…

brain + noun

cell
tissue
region
…

preposition

in the/your brain
on the/your brain

phrases

blow your brains out

food

brains

[plural] the brain of an animal, eaten as food（供食用的）动物脑髓

sheep’s brains羊脑

intelligence

[uncountable, countable, usually plural] the ability to learn quickly and think about things in a logical and intelligent way智力；脑力；逻辑思维能力

It doesn't take much brain to work out that both stories can't be true.不必费多大脑筋就知道，两种说法不可能都是真的。
Teachers spotted that he had a good brain at an early age.老师们发现他小时候就很聪颖。
You need brains as well as brawn (= intelligence as well as strength) to do this job.这项工作既需要脑力又需要体力。

intelligent person

[countable, usually plural] (informal) an intelligent person聪明的人；有智慧的人

one of the best scientific brains in the country国家最优秀的科技人才之一
We have the best scientific brains in the country working on this.我们有国家最优秀的科技人才为此出力。

the brains

[singular] the most intelligent person in a particular group; the person who is responsible for thinking of and organizing something（群体中）最聪明的人；策划组织者

He's always been the brains of the family.这家人数他聪明。
the brains behind something The band's drummer is the brains behind their latest venture.这个乐队的鼓手是他们最近一次活动的策划人。
He was the brains behind the robberies.他是劫案背后的谋划者。

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

fertile
fine
good
…

verb + brain

rack
pick somebody’s
take
…

brain + verb

function
tick over
work
…

brain + noun

power
drain

preposition

brain behind

phrases

brains, not brawn
etc.
have a brain for something
…

Word OriginOld English brægen, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch brein.

Idioms

beat your brains out

(especially North American English, informal) to think very hard about something for a long time绞尽脑汁；反复推敲
- I’ve been beating my brains out all weekend to get this script written.为了写这个剧本，我整个周末都在绞尽脑汁。

blow your/somebody’s brains out

to kill yourself/somebody by shooting yourself/them in the head枪击头部自杀／杀人
- He put a gun to his head and threatened to blow his brains out.他用枪指着他的头，威胁说要让他脑袋开花。
- While cleaning his shotgun he had accidentally blown his own brains out.他擦猎枪时意外走火，打烂了自己的脑袋。

cudgel your brains

(old-fashioned, British English) to think very hard冥思苦想；绞尽脑汁
- I had to cudgel my brains to remember her name.我必须绞尽脑汁才能记住她的名字。

have something on the brain

(informal) to think about something all the time, especially in a way that is annoying某事萦绕心头；过分热衷
- He's got football on the brain.他满脑子都是足球。

pick somebody’s brains

(informal) to ask somebody a lot of questions about something because they know more about the subject than you do讨教；请教；不断地问（以向别人学习）
- I need to pick your brains: what can you tell me about credit unions?我向您请教一下：您能告诉我信用合作社是怎么回事吗？

rack your brain(s)

to think very hard or for a long time about something绞尽脑汁；冥思苦想
- She racked her brains, trying to remember exactly what she had said.她绞尽脑汁，想要回忆起她到底说过些什么话。
- We racked our brains but we couldn't come up with a solution.我们绞尽脑汁也想不出解决方法。