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⇱ nursing - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

nursing

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈnɜːrsɪŋ/

From the verb nurse: (⇒ conjugate)
nursing is: ⓘClick the infinitive to see all available inflections
v pres p

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
nursing /ˈnɜːsɪŋ/ n
    • the practice or profession of caring for sick and injured people
    • (as modifier): a nursing home
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
nurse /nɜrs/USA pronunciation   n., v., nursed, nurs•ing. 
n. [countable]
  1. Medicinea person trained in the care of the sick, esp. a registered nurse.
  2. a woman who has the general care of a child or children;
    dry nurse.
  3. a woman who feeds someone else's baby from her own breast;
    wet nurse.

v. 
  1. to tend to or take care of (someone) in sickness:[~ + object]She nursed him back to health.
  2. to try to cure (an ailment) by taking care of oneself:[~ + object]She was nursing a cold.
  3. (of a woman) to feed (an infant) at the breast: [~ + object]The mother nursed her baby.[no object]She was nursing.
  4. [no object] (of an infant) to feed at the breast.
  5. to handle carefully or fondly, esp. to consume slowly:[~ + object]to nurse a cup of tea.
  6. to keep steadily in one's mind or memory:[~ + object]He nursed a grudge.
nurs•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
nurse  (nûrs),USA pronunciation n., v., nursed, nurs•ing. 
  1. Medicinea person formally educated and trained in the care of the sick or infirm. Cf. nurse-midwife, nurse-practitioner, physician's assistant, practical nurse, registered nurse. 
  2. a woman who has the general care of a child or children;
    dry nurse.
  3. a woman employed to suckle an infant;
    wet nurse.
  4. any fostering agency or influence.
  5. Insects[Entomol.]a worker that attends the young in a colony of social insects.
  6. Games[Billiards.]the act of maintaining the position of billiard balls in preparation for a carom.

v.t. 
  1. to tend or minister to in sickness, infirmity, etc.
  2. to try to cure (an ailment) by taking care of oneself:to nurse a cold.
  3. to look after carefully so as to promote growth, development, etc.;
    foster;
    cherish:to nurse one's meager talents.
  4. to treat or handle with adroit care in order to further one's own interests:to nurse one's nest egg.
  5. to use, consume, or dispense very slowly or carefully:He nursed the one drink all evening.
  6. to keep steadily in mind or memory:He nursed a grudge against me all the rest of his life.
  7. to suckle (an infant).
  8. to feed and tend in infancy.
  9. to bring up, train, or nurture.
  10. to clasp or handle carefully or fondly:to nurse a plate of food on one's lap.
  11. Games[Billiards.]to maintain the position of (billiard balls) for a series of caroms.

v.i. 
  1. to suckle a child, esp. one's own.
  2. (of a child) to suckle:The child did not nurse after he was three months old.
  3. to act as nurse;
    tend the sick or infirm.
  • Late Latin nūtrīcia, noun, nominal use of feminine of Latin nūtrīcius nutritious; (verb, verbal) earlier nursh (reduced form of nourish), assimilated to the noun, nominal
  • Old French
  • (noun, nominal) Middle English, variant of n(o)urice, norice 1350–1400
    9. encourage, abet, help, aid, back. 14. rear, raise. Nurse, nourish, nurture may be used almost interchangeably to refer to bringing up the young. Nurse, however, suggests attendance and service; nourish emphasizes providing whatever is needful for development; and nurture suggests tenderness and solicitude in training mind and manners.
    7. 9. neglect.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
nurse /nɜːs/ n
  1. a person who tends sick, injured, or infirm people
  2. short for nursemaid
  3. a woman employed to breast-feed another woman's child; wet nurse
  4. a worker in a colony of social insects that takes care of the larvae
 vb (mainly tr)
  1. (also intr) to tend (a sick person or sick people)
  2. (also intr) to feed (a baby) at the breast; suckle
  3. to try to cure (an ailment)
  4. to clasp carefully or fondly: she nursed the crying child in her arms
  5. (also intr) (of a baby) to suckle at the breast (of)
  6. to attend to carefully; foster, cherish: I nursed the magazine through its first year, having a very small majority she nursed the constituency diligently
  7. to harbour; preserve: to nurse a grudge
  8. to keep (the balls) together for a series of cannons
Etymology: 16th Century: from earlier norice, Old French nourice, from Late Latin nūtrīcia nurse, from Latin nūtrīcius nourishing, from nūtrīre to nourish
'nursing' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: is studying nursing, is going into nursing, [careers, vacancies, jobs] in nursing, more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "nursing" in the title:

a nursing home vs. nursing homes
all among (the nursing homes)
Caption for a picture of a baby [Nursing]
discontinuous nursing species
dissertation studies. 'nursing home' ? 'nursing homes' ?
Do nursing
dominated (commensurate/kindred) professions like nursing and occupational therapy
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Florence Nightingale is admirable in working to establish the profession of nursing.
holding nursing me back to health over my head
hope you are nursing Lisa back to health
in a modern nursing-care context
It could be difficult for students with other majors than medicine or nursing
like a sack of old potatoes, covered in mud and nursing a sprained ankle
Medical care & Nursing care
my major was Nursing with a four-year program
Nursing
Nursing a baby
Nursing a bottle
nursing agent
Nursing <assignments><duties>
nursing at its mother's breasts
nursing home
Nursing Home for the Elderly ?
nursing of infants
nursing reports, which have been obtained on most of the patients
Nursing rooms
nursing traumatic wounds made little difference
nursing/caring for babies/nourishing
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Look up "nursing" at Merriam-Webster
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