nurse Hear it!

nurse Definition

nurse (nʉrs)

noun

  1. wet nurse
  2. a woman hired to take full care of another's young child or children; nursemaid
  3. a person trained to take care of the sick, injured, or aged, to assist surgeons, etc.; specif., a registered nurse or a practical nurse
  4. a person or thing that nourishes, fosters, protects, etc.
  5. Zool. a worker bee or ant that cares for the young

Etymology: ME norse < OFr norice < LL nutricia < L nutricius, that suckles or nourishes < nutrix (gen. nutricis), wet nurse < nutrire, to nourish < IE *(s)neu-, var. of base *(s)nā-, to flow > natant, Sans snāuti, (she) gives milk, Gr naein, to flow

transitive verb nursed, nurs′·ing

  1. to give milk from the breast to (an infant); suckle
  2. to suck milk from the breast of
  3. to take care of (a child or children)
  4. to bring up; rear
  5. to tend (the sick, injured, or aged)
  6. to cause to continue, grow, or develop; nourish or foster to nurse a grudge
  7. to treat, or try to cure to nurse a cold
    1. to use, operate, or handle cautiously or carefully, so as to avoid injury, pain, exhaustion, etc. to nurse an injured leg
    2. to consume, spend, etc. slowly or carefully so as to conserve to nurse a highball
  9. to clasp; hold carefully; fondle
  10. Billiards to keep (the balls) close together for a series of caroms

intransitive verb

  1. to be suckled; feed at the breast
  2. to suckle a child
  3. to tend the sick, injured, etc. as a nurse

nurse Related Forms

nurs′er noun

nurse Synonyms

nurse

n.

  1. One who cares for the sick

    attendant, male nurse, practical nurse, licensed practical nurse, L.P.N., private nurse, registered nurse, R.N., floor nurse, night nurse, day nurse, orderly, health care provider, doctor's assistant, student nurse, nurse's aide, therapist, Red Cross nurse, Lady in Gray*, Florence Nightingale*.

    Nursing specialties include: pediatric, geriatric, cardiac, surgical, obstetric, psychiatric, occupational health, public health, nurse practitioner.

  2. One who cares for the young

    servant, nursemaid, caretaker, attendant, babysitter, child care provider, nanny*, minder*, nurserymam*.

  3. One who suckles the young

    wet nurse, amah (India), foster mother, mammy.

nurse Synonyms

nurse

v.

  1. To provide medical care

    attend to, minister to, aid, medicate, irradiate, X-ray, immunize, inoculate, vaccinate, care for, take

  2. To care for (an infant)

    cherish, nurture, foster, mother, father, be a mother to, be a father to, suckle, cradle, dry-nurse, wet-nurse, feed; see also sustain 2.

nurse Usage Examples

Object

informatic: A curriculum about nursing informatics for a nurse educator's educational program.

Converse of object

qualify: Newly qualified nurses may choose to take up posts in the community.

Adjective modifier

  • qualified: Qualified nurses do many tasks which are not characteristically ' nursing ' tasks.
  • psychiatric: With the exception of two people, everyone also saw a community psychiatric nurse or social worker.
  • registered: The Registered Nurse will indicate which doses have been supplied for the leave on the medicine chart.
  • trained: Most of the other staff on the ward are children's trained nurses called staff nurses.
  • veterinary: Ask your vet or the veterinary nurse to demonstrate how to brush.
  • ms: Often, an MS nurse will contact the midwife to ensure appropriate pregnancy care plans are in place.

Preposition: on

ward: The nurses on the ward will use the catheter to wash out your new bladder twice a day following your operation.

Modifies a noun

  • prescriber: The newsletter produced by the trust for nurse prescribers was the main method used for information dissemination.
  • practitioner: There are 6 specialist registrars and a team of senior house officer and advanced nurse practitioners.
  • specialist: A standard questionnaire was attached to notes for doctors or nurse specialists to complete.
  • staffing: Needlesticks, nurses, and organization 2 Clinical bottom line Nurse staffing and organization are key determinants of needlestick risk.
  • educator: A curriculum about nursing informatics for a nurse educator 's educational program.

Noun used with modifier

  • district: Enquire about the help of a district nurse through your GP or health clinic.
  • nursery: Nursery Nurse: A nursery nurse had been appointed to support the health visitors in the practice.
  • specialist: She is a Diabetic Specialist Nurse based in Bodmin.
  • diabetes: It is modeled on the multi-disciplinary team approach used by the specialist diabetes nurses.
  • stoma: Your stoma nurse can help you find the right one.
  • practice: You can use these on your own, with a friend or with help from your GP or practice nurse.