pain
noun /peɪn/
/peɪn/
see also painsIdioms - [uncountable, countable] the feelings that you have in your body when you have been hurt or when you are ill
- a cry of pain
- in pain She was clearly in a lot of pain.
- He screamed in pain as he fell to his knees.
- pain in something He felt a sharp pain in his knee.
- chronic/acute/severe pain
- patients suffering from back pain
- stomach/chest/abdominal/back pains
- You get more aches and pains as you get older.
- The booklet contains information on pain relief during labour.
- This cream should help to relieve the pain.
- These pills should ease the pain.
- to feel/experience/suffer pain
- It's wrong to inflict pain on any animal.
- I was able to learn pain management techniques.
Homophones pain | panepain pane/peɪn//peɪn/- pain noun
- These pills should ease the pain.
- pain verb
- It did pain him to see his ex happily married.
- pane noun
- The burglars got in by breaking a pane of glass in a door.
Wordfinder- acute
- condition
- health
- medicine
- outbreak
- pain
- recover
- relapse
- terminal
- treatment
Extra ExamplesTopics Illnessa2- Can you feel any pain?
- His face was contorted with pain as he crossed the finish line.
- I have a very low threshold for pain.
- If the pain persists, see your doctor.
- She had a burning pain in one eye.
- The pains began shortly after she started work as a gardener.
- The treatments helped manage his pain.
- Your doctor should be able to do something for the pain.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- acute
- agonizing
- awful
- …
- spasm
- stab
- be in
- be racked with
- experience
- …
- begin
- come
- occur
- …
- control
- management
- relief
- …
- pain in
- aches and pains
- a cry of pain
- a threshold for pain
- …
- [uncountable, countable] mental or emotional difficulty
- the pain of something the pain of separation
- the pain of doing something It took him several years to get over the pain of losing his job.
- I never meant to cause her pain.
- the pleasures and pains of growing old
- a life full of pain and suffering
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsa2- Ellen saw the pain etched on his face when he mentioned his ex-wife's name.
- For a few moments she forgot the pain he had caused her.
- I could sense her pain and put my arm around her.
- It was lovely to have someone there to share both the pain and the joy.
- Nothing could heal the pain of her son's death.
- Through her drug addiction she had inflicted a lot of pain on the family.
- We hoped to spare her the pain of having to meet her attacker.
- The government has to persuade the people that the economic reforms are worth the pain.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- great
- immense
- intense
- …
- cause (somebody)
- give somebody
- inflict
- …
- the pain etched on somebody’s face
- [countable] (informal) a person or thing that is very annoying
- She can be a real pain when she's in a bad mood.
- It's a pain having to go all that way for just one meeting.
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘suffering inflicted as punishment for an offence’): from Old French peine, from Latin poena ‘penalty’, later ‘pain’.
Idioms
no pain, no gain
- (saying) used to say that you need to suffer if you want to achieve somethingTopics Difficulty and failurec2
on/under pain of something
- (formal) with the threat of having something done to you as a punishment if you do not obey
- They were required to cut pollution levels, on pain of a £10 000 fine if they disobeyed.
a pain in the neck
(British English also a pain in the arse/backside)
(North American English also a pain in the ass/butt)
- (informal) a person or thing that is very annoying
- That man's a pain in the neck!