sprain
/spreɪn
/verb [with object]
Wrench or twist the ligaments of (an ankle, wrist, or other joint) violently so as to cause pain and swelling but not dislocation: he left in a wheelchair after spraining an ankle...
- In January she ‘fell’ down two flights of stairs, spraining her wrist and twisting an ankle.
- A mother-of-three has been awarded £1,000 in damages after spraining her wrist while lifting a bread tray at a York supermarket's in-store bakery.
- Would you put your mother in a home for the elderly after spraining her ankle?
Synonyms
wrench, twist, turn, strain, crick;
pull, stretch, tear;
injure, hurt, damage
British informal rick
noun
The result of spraining a joint: a compress for treating sprains and bruises...
- Fishburne, too, suffered his fair share of sprains and bruises, although he said that ‘it comes with the territory’ when dealing with the action genre.
- Has she said what gave her the bruises or sprains?
- Acute injuries, such as a sudden sprain or muscle pull, seem to happen out of the blue.
Synonyms
wrench, strain, rick, crick;
pull, tear, injury
Origin
Early 17th century: of unknown origin.