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| nurse [ nurss ] |
noun (plural nurs·es) |
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| Definition: |
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1. somebody caring for patients: somebody trained to look after sick or injured people, especially somebody who works in a hospital or clinic, administering the care and treatment that a doctor prescribes
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2.
(
dated
)
Same as nursemaid
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3. medicine
Same as wet nurse
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4. insects insect looking after young: an insect that looks after the young or the larvae in a colony of social insects such as ants or bees
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verb (past and past participle nursed, present participle nurs·ing, 3rd person present singular nurs·es) |
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| Definition: |
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1. transitive verb care for sick person: to take care of somebody who is sick or injured
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2. intransitive verb work as nurse: to do the work of a nurse, especially professionally in a hospital
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3. transitive verb treat health problem or injury: to treat a health problem or a part of the body affected by sickness or injury in order to effect a recovery
  I have been nursing a bad cold for three days.
nurse a sprained ankle
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4. transitive verb keep feeling: to keep a feeling in the mind for a long time, often indulging in it and allowing it to grow or deepen
nursing his resentment
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5. transitive verb manage somebody or something carefully: to manage, guide, or supervise somebody or something with care and devotion
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6. transitive verb consume something slowly: to consume something, especially a drink, very slowly in order to make it last
nursing her espresso
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7. transitive verb hold something: to hold something precious with love or care
sat on the train nursing his purchase from the antique shop
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8. transitive and intransitive verb breast-feed: to breast-feed a baby, or be breast-fed
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| [13th century. Via Old French norrice< Latin nutricia "wet nurse" < nutrix] |
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| nurs·er noun |
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