nurse
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nurse¹
- /nɜːs/ UK
- /nəːs/ British, Southern, Standard
- /nɝs/ US
- /nɔːs/ Northumbria
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)s
Where it comes from
From Middle English norice, from Old French norrice, from Late Latin nūtrīcia, noun based on Latin nūtrīcius (“that which nourishes”), from nūtrīx (“wet nurse”), from nūtriō (“to suckle”).
noun nurses · norice · nourice · nourse
- Anyone performing this role, regardless of training or profession. My aunt was my nurse while I recuperated at home from surgery.
- A medical worker performing this role, typically someone trained to provide such care but having credentials and rank below a doctor or physician assistant. The nurse made her rounds through the hospital ward.
- A medical worker, such as a registered nurse, having training, credentials, and rank above a nurse assistant.
- A person (usually a woman) who takes care of other people’s children. They hired a nurse to care for their young boy.
- One who, or that which, brings up, rears, causes to grow, trains, or fosters. Eton College has been called "the chief nurse of England's statesmen".
- A shrub or tree that protects a young plant.
- A lieutenant or first officer who takes command when the captain is unfit for his place.
- A larva of certain trematodes, which produces cercariae by asexual reproduction.
- A wet nurse.
verb nurses · nursing · nursed · norice · nourice
- To breastfeed: to feed (a baby) at the breast; to suckle. She believes that nursing her baby will make him strong and healthy.
- To breastfeed: to be fed at the breast.
- To care for (someone), especially in sickness; to tend to. She nursed him back to health.
- To tend gently and with extra care. She nursed the rosebush and that season it bloomed.
-
To manage or oversee (something) with care and economy.
Similar: husband
-
To drink (a beverage) slowly, so as to make it last.
Rob was nursing a small beer.
Similar: sip
- To cultivate or persistently entertain (an attitude, usually negative) in one's mind; to brood or obsess over. to nurse a grudge
- To hold closely to one's chest. Would you like to nurse the puppy?
- To strike (billiard balls) gently, so as to keep them in good position during a series of shots. It is to our interest to let Lee and Johnston come together, just as a billiard-player would nurse the balls when he has them in a nice place
nurse²
- /nɜːs/ UK
- /nəːs/ British, Southern, Standard
- /nɝs/ US
- /nɔːs/ Northumbria
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)s
Where it comes from
Uncertain; earlier (16th century) nusse, nuse. Perhaps from huss, through metanalysis of "an huss" as "a nuss".
noun nurses · norice · nourice · nourse
- A nurse shark or dogfish.
Nurse³
proper noun Nurses
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: wet-nurse, nanny, nursemaid, entertain, hold, suck, suckle, give suck, breastfeed, lactate, harbour, harbor, governess, lady, mademoiselle, housekeeper
Translations
Every language
noun person trained to provide care for the sick
| Español | enfermera, enfermero |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 간호원 ganhowon, 간호사 ganhosa |
| 日本語 | 看護師 kangoshi, 看護士 unisex, 看護婦 kangofu, ナース nāsu |
| 中文 | 護士 /护士 hùshi, 看護 /看护 kānhù |
| हिन्दी | नर्स nars |
| Kiswahili | muuguzi, nesi |
| Português | enfermeira, enfermeiro |
| Français | infirmière, infirmier |
| Deutsch | Krankenschwester, Krankenpfleger |
| Italiano | infermiera, infermiere |
| Ελληνικά | νοσοκόμα nosokóma, νοσοκόμος nosokómos, νοσηλεύτρια nosiléftria, νοσηλευτής nosileftís |
| Română | infirmieră, infirmier, soră medicală, soră, asistentă medicală |
| Русский | медсестра́ medsestrá, сиде́лка sidélka, фе́льдшер félʹdšer, медбра́т medbrát, сестра́ sestrá |
| Tiếng Việt | y tá |
| العربية | مُمَرِّض mumarriḍ, مُمَرِّضَة mumarriḍa |
| עברית | חוֹבֵשׁ khovesh, אָח akh, אָחוֹת akhót |
noun person who takes care of other people's young
| Español | niñera |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 간호사 ganhosa, 유모 yumo, 보모 bomo |
| 日本語 | 保育士 hoikushi, 保母 hobo |
| 中文 | 保育員 /保育员 bǎoyùyuán |
| Português | babá |
| Français | nourrice |
| Deutsch | Kinderfrau, Kindermädchen |
| Italiano | nutrice, balia |
| Ελληνικά | τροφός trofós, παραμάνα paramána |
| Română | dădacă, doică, bonă, nursă |
| Русский | ня́ня njánja, корми́лица kormílica |
| Tiếng Việt | bảo mẫu, bảo mỗ |
verb to breastfeed (a baby)
| Español | amamantar, dar el pecho, atetar, achichiguar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 哺乳する honyū suru, 授乳する junyū suru, おっぱいをあげる oppai wo ageru |
| Português | amamentar |
| Français | allaiter, donner le sein |
| Deutsch | stillen |
| Italiano | allattare |
| Ελληνικά | θηλάζω thilázo |
| Română | alăpta |
| Русский | корми́ть гру́дью kormítʹ grúdʹju, корми́ть свои́м молоко́м kormítʹ svoím molokóm |
| العربية | أَرْضَعَ ʔarḍaʕa |
| עברית | הֵינִיק heníq |
verb to care for (the sick)
| हिन्दी | उपचार करना upcār karnā |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | uguza |
| Português | tratar |
| Français | soigner |
| Deutsch | pflegen |
| Italiano | curare |
| Ελληνικά | νοσηλεύω nosilévo, γιατροκομώ giatrokomó, περιθάλπω perithálpo |
| Română | îngriji |
| العربية | مَرَّضَ marraḍa |
verb to tend gently and with extra care
| Kiswahili | uguza |
|---|---|
| Português | tratar bem |
| Français | soigner |
| Deutsch | hätscheln |
| Italiano | accudire |
| Ελληνικά | περιποιούμαι peripoioúmai, φροντίζω frontízo |
Talk about this word "nurse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nurse. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. nurse. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nurse "nurse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nurse.Cite this
@misc{nurse_2026,
title = {nurse},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nurse},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
