{
    "term": "brain",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "a2",
    "image": "data/images/in/internal_organs.png",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "the organ inside the head that controls movement, thought, memory and feeling",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The **human brain** is a complex organ."
                },
                {
                    "text": "My tired brain couldn't cope with such a complex problem."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She was found to have sustained a **brain injury**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "**brain cells/tissue**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a **brain tumour/haemorrhage/aneurysm**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Sometimes the doctor will also do a brain scan."
                },
                {
                    "text": "brain surgery"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He had a brain scan to search for possible damage."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He was found to have a blood clot on his brain."
                },
                {
                    "text": "His brain reeled as he realized the implication of his dismissal."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The left brain controls the right-hand side of the body."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The stopping distance includes the time taken for the brain to register the need to stop."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Electrodes were used to measure brain activity during sleep."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Fruit eating primates have relatively larger brains than those that eat leaves."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We want to halve stillbirths and brain injuries in newborns in the next five years."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She died of a brain tumour."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a device to measure brain activity during sleep"
                },
                {
                    "text": "There has been some loss of brain function."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She is one of the country's leading brain surgeons."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The scan apparently showed no damage to the brain."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Body"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["human", "left", "right"],
                "brain + noun": ["cell", "tissue", "region"],
                "preposition": ["in the/​your brain", "on the/​your brain"],
                "phrases": ["blow your brains out"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "the brain of an animal, eaten as food",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "sheep’s brains"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "the ability to learn quickly and think about things in a logical and intelligent way",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "It doesn't take much brain to work out that both stories can't be true."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Teachers spotted that he had a good brain at an early age."
                },
                {
                    "text": "You need brains as well as brawn *(= intelligence as well as strength)* to do this job."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She has a good brain for mathematics."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Jack's got the brain to realize that the money won't last forever."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They relied on brains rather than brawn."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She must have inherited her mother's brains."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's important to keep your brain ticking over."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["fertile", "fine", "good"],
                "verb + brain": ["rack", "pick somebody’s", "take"],
                "brain + verb": ["function", "tick over", "work"],
                "brain + noun": ["power", "drain"],
                "preposition": ["brain behind"],
                "phrases": ["brains, not brawn", "etc.", "have a brain for something"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "an intelligent person",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "one of the best scientific brains in the country"
                },
                {
                    "text": "We have the best scientific brains in the country working on this."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "the most intelligent person in a particular group; the person who is responsible for thinking of and organizing something",
            "sensetop": "the brains behind something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He's always been the brains of the family."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The band's drummer is the brains behind their latest venture.",
                    "contextForm": "the brains behind something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He was the brains behind the robberies."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["fertile", "fine", "good"],
                "verb + brain": ["rack", "pick somebody’s", "take"],
                "brain + verb": ["function", "tick over", "work"],
                "brain + noun": ["power", "drain"],
                "preposition": ["brain behind"],
                "phrases": ["brains, not brawn", "etc.", "have a brain for something"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to think very hard about something for a long time",
            "labels": "(especially North American English, informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I’ve been beating my brains out all weekend to get this script written."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to kill yourself/somebody by shooting yourself/them in the head",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He put a gun to his head and threatened to blow his brains out."
                },
                {
                    "text": "While cleaning his shotgun he had accidentally blown his own brains out."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to think very hard",
            "labels": "(old-fashioned, British English)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I had to cudgel my brains to remember her name."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to think about something all the time, especially in a way that is annoying",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She's got football on the brain."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to ask somebody a lot of questions about something because they know more about the subject than you do",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "I need to pick your brains: what can you tell me about credit unions?"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to think very hard or for a long time about something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She racked her brains, trying to remember exactly what she had said."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We racked our brains but we couldn't come up with a solution."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/breɪn/",
                "audio": "br/brain/brain__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/breɪn/",
                "audio": "br/brain/brain__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Old English brægen, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch brein."
}