nurse Definition

nurse
noun nurses

1. Someone trained to look after sick, injured or feeble people, especially in hospital.
2. Someone, especially a woman, who looks after small children in a household, etc. See also nursemaid, nursery nurse, wet nurse.

Thesaurus: nanny, nursemaid, amah.
3. A worker ant, bee, etc, that tends the young in the colony.

verb nursed, nursing

1. To look after (sick or injured people) especially in a hospital.

Thesaurus: attend, minister to, heal, treat, aid, tend, care for, look after.
intr
2. To follow a career as a nurse.
tr & intr
3a. To breastfeed a baby;
tr & intr
3b. Said of a baby: to feed at the breast.
4. To hold something with care.

Example: gave him the bag of meringues to nurse
5. To tend something with concern.

Example: was at home nursing a cold
6. To encourage or indulge (a feeling) in oneself.

Example: nursing her jealousy
Thesaurus: foster, cherish, cultivate, encourage, nurture.

Derivative: nursing
adj, noun

Idiom: put out to nurse (put to nurse)

To put (a baby) into the care of a nurse, usually away from home.

To put (an estate) into the care of trustees.

Etymology: 14c: from French norrice, from Latin nutrire to nourish or care for.