See more synonyms for nurse on Thesaurus.comnoun
- a person formally educated and trained in the care of the sick or infirm.Compare nurse-midwife, nurse-practitioner, physician’s assistant, practical nurse, registered nurse.
- a woman who has the general care of a child or children; dry nurse.
- a woman employed to suckle an infant; wet nurse.
- any fostering agency or influence.
- Entomology. a worker that attends the young in a colony of social insects.
- Billiards. the act of maintaining the position of billiard balls in preparation for a carom.
verb (used with object), nursed, nurs·ing.
- to tend or minister to in sickness, infirmity, etc.
- to try to cure (an ailment) by taking care of oneself: to nurse a cold.
- to look after carefully so as to promote growth, development, etc.; foster; cherish: to nurse one’s meager talents.
- to treat or handle with adroit care in order to further one’s own interests: to nurse one’s nest egg.
- to use, consume, or dispense very slowly or carefully: He nursed the one drink all evening.
- to keep steadily in mind or memory: He nursed a grudge against me all the rest of his life.
- to suckle (an infant).
- to feed and tend in infancy.
- to bring up, train, or nurture.
- to clasp or handle carefully or fondly: to nurse a plate of food on one’s lap.
- Billiards. to maintain the position of (billiard balls) for a series of caroms.
verb (used without object), nursed, nurs·ing.
- to suckle a child, especially one’s own.
- (of a child) to suckle: The child did not nurse after he was three months old.
- to act as nurse; tend the sick or infirm.
Origin of nurse
1350–1400;
(noun)
Middle English,
variant of
n(o)urice, norice
Old French Late Latin
nūtrīcia,
noun use of feminine of
Latin nūtrīcius nutritious
; (v.) earlier
nursh
(reduced form of
), assimilated to the noun
Related formsnon·nurs·ing, adjectiveo·ver·nurse, verb (used with object), o·ver·nursed, o·ver·nurs·ing.un·der·nurse, nounwell-nursed, adjective
Synonyms for nurse
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Nurse, nourish, nurture
may be used almost interchangeably to refer to bringing up the young.
Nurse,
however, suggests attendance and service;
nourish
emphasizes providing whatever is needful for development; and
nurture
suggests tenderness and solicitude in training mind and manners.
Antonyms for nurse
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
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Examples from the Web for nurse
Contemporary Examples of nurse
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At the hospital, I was told to wait, and was given some tea by a nurse.
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I learn by the third day to tell the nurse privately to make mine mostly orange juice.
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Then Allison went back to Pacey, and Noah went back to Nurse Abby from E.R.
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She set a career nominations record with her 21st nod—all in the TV fields—for Best Actress in a Comedy for Nurse Jackie.
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Phyllis, who was a nurse, went down to Mississippi to provide medical care for people like Joan.
Historical Examples of nurse
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She and her nurse had been stolen from the Ionian coast, by Greek pirates.
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You were scarcely two years old, when you and your nurse suddenly disappeared.
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When Nurse had gone she would lie still in her cot, waiting.
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My mother has been very ill; and would have no other nurse but me.
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As between child and parent or nurse it is not argued about because it is inevitable.
British Dictionary definitions for nurse
nurse
noun
- a person who tends the sick, injured, or infirm
- short for nursemaid
- a woman employed to breast-feed another woman’s child; wet nurse
- a worker in a colony of social insects that takes care of the larvae
verb (mainly tr)
- (also intr) to tend (the sick)
- (also intr) to feed (a baby) at the breast; suckle
- to try to cure (an ailment)
- to clasp carefully or fondlyshe nursed the crying child in her arms
- (also intr) (of a baby) to suckle at the breast (of)
- to look after (a child) as one’s employment
- to attend to carefully; foster, cherishhe nursed the magazine through its first year; having a very small majority he nursed the constituency diligently
- to harbour; preserveto nurse a grudge
- billiards to keep (the balls) together for a series of cannons
Word Origin for nurse
C16: from earlier norice, Old French nourice, from Late Latin nūtrīcia nurse, from Latin nūtrīcius nourishing, from nūtrīre to nourish
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for nursen.1
12c., nurrice “wet-nurse, foster-mother to a young child” (modern form from late 14c.), from Old French norrice “foster-mother, wet-nurse, nanny” (source of proper name Norris), from Late Latin *nutricia “nurse, governess, tutoress,” noun use of fem. of Latin nutricius “that suckles, nourishes,” from nutrix (genitive nutricis) “wet-nurse,” from nutrire “to suckle” (see nourish). Meaning “person who takes care of sick” in English first recorded 1580s.
n.2
“dog fish, shark,” late 15c., of unknown origin.
v.
1530s, “to suckle (an infant);” 1520s in the passive sense, “to bring up” (a child); alteration of Middle English nurshen (13c.; see nourish), Sense of “take care of (a sick person)” is first recorded 1736. Related: Nursed; nursing.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
nurse in Medicine
nurse
[nûrs]n.
- A person trained to care for the sick or disabled, especially one educated in the scientific basis of human response to health problems and trained to assist a physician.
- A wet nurse.
- An individual who cares for an infant or young child.
v.
- To serve as a nurse.
- To provide or take nourishment from the breast; suckle.
The American Heritage® Stedman’s Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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