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brain.

The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull, consisting of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem, which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈbɹeɪ̯n/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈbɹæ̝ɪ̯n/Australia, New-Zealand/ˈbɾen/Scotland/ˈbɾein/Wales
  1. The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull, consisting of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem, which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action.

    countable · uncountable
  2. The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull, consisting of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem, which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action. A part of the brain, especially associated with particular mental functions, abilities, etc.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull, consisting of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem, which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action. skull; head

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  4. Mind.

    countable · informal · uncountable
    I have too much on my brain today.
  5. Intellect.

    countable · in-plural · uncountable
    She has a lot of brains.
  6. An intelligent person.

    countable · informal · uncountable
    She was a total brain.
  7. An intelligent person. A person who provides the intelligence required for something.

    countable · informal · plural · plural-only · uncountable
    He is the brains behind the scheme.
  8. An intelligent person. An intellectual or mental capacity.

    countable · informal · singular · uncountable
    Gerald always acts like he doesn't have a brain.
  9. By analogy with a human brain, the part of a machine or computer that performs calculations.

    countable · uncountable
    The computer's brain is capable of millions of calculations a second.
  10. Oral sex.

    slang · uncountable · vulgar
  11. A loose compartment of a backpack that straps on over the top opening.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mregʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-n̥ Proto-Indo-European *mrógʰ-n̥ ~ *mrégʰ-n̥-s Proto-Germanic *bragną Proto-West Germanic *bragn Old English bræġn Middle English brayn English brain Inherited from Middle English brayn, from Old English bræġn, from Proto-West Germanic *bragn, from Proto-Germanic *bragną, from Proto-Indo-European *mrógʰ-n̥ ~ *mrégʰ-n̥-s, from *mregʰ- + *-n̥. Cognate with Scots braine, brane (“brain”), North Frisian brayen, brein, Brain (“brain”), Saterland Frisian Brainge, Bräienge (“brain”), West Frisian brein (“brain”), Dutch brein (“brain”), Low German Brägen, Bregen (“brain”) (whence German Bregen (“animal brain”)), Ancient Greek βρεχμός (brekhmós, “front part of the skull, top of the head”).

verb/ˈbɹeɪ̯n/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/ˈbɹæ̝ɪ̯n/Australia, New-Zealand/ˈbɾen/Scotland/ˈbɾein/Wales
  1. To dash out the brains of; to kill by smashing the skull.

    transitive
  2. To strike (someone) on the head.

    transitive
  3. To destroy; to put an end to.

    figuratively · transitive
  4. To conceive in the mind; to understand.

    obsolete · transitive
  5. To think effectively.

    humorous · intransitive · nonstandard
    My brain isn't braining right now.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mregʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-n̥ Proto-Indo-European *mrógʰ-n̥ ~ *mrégʰ-n̥-s Proto-Germanic *bragną Proto-West Germanic *bragn Old English bræġn Middle English brayn English brain Inherited from Middle English brayn, from Old English bræġn, from Proto-West Germanic *bragn, from Proto-Germanic *bragną, from Proto-Indo-European *mrógʰ-n̥ ~ *mrégʰ-n̥-s, from *mregʰ- + *-n̥. Cognate with Scots braine, brane (“brain”), North Frisian brayen, brein, Brain (“brain”), Saterland Frisian Brainge, Bräienge (“brain”), West Frisian brein (“brain”), Dutch brein (“brain”), Low German Brägen, Bregen (“brain”) (whence German Bregen (“animal brain”)), Ancient Greek βρεχμός (brekhmós, “front part of the skull, top of the head”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.