Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary полностью

6to rack your brains → see rack COLLOCATIONS brain NOUN

1

adjective + brain : human; left, right

verb + brain : scan; affect, damage

2

adjective + brain : human, teenage; mathematical, sharp, shrewd

verb + brain : engage, stimulate, use

brain|child /bre I ntʃa I ld/ also brain-child N‑SING [with poss] Someone's brainchild is an idea or invention that they have thought up or created. □  The project was the brainchild of the British Council offices in India.

brai n dam|age N‑UNCOUNT If someone suffers brain damage , their brain is damaged by an illness or injury so that they cannot function normally. □  He suffered severe brain damage after a motorbike accident.

brai n-damaged ADJ Someone who is brain-damaged has suffered brain damage. □  The accident left the boy severely brain-damaged and almost totally reliant on others.

brai n-dea d also brain dead , braindead

1 ADJ If someone is declared brain-dead , they have suffered brain death.

2 ADJ If you say that someone is brain-dead , you are saying in a cruel way that you think they are very stupid. [DISAPPROVAL ]

brai n death N‑UNCOUNT Brain death occurs when someone's brain stops functioning, even though their heart may be kept beating using a machine.

brai n drain N‑SING When people talk about a brain drain , they are referring to the movement of a large number of scientists or academics away from their own country to other countries where the conditions and salaries are better.

-brained /-bre I nd/

1 COMB You can combine -brained with nouns to form adjectives which describe the quality of someone's mind when you consider that person to be rather stupid. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  …a scatter-brained professor.

2 → see also hare-brained

brain|less /bre I nləs/ ADJ If you describe someone or something as brainless , you mean that you think they are stupid. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  I got treated as if I was a bit brainless.

brain|power /bre I npaʊə ^r /

1 N‑UNCOUNT Brainpower is intelligence or the ability to think. [JOURNALISM ] □  She admired Robert's brainpower.

2 N‑UNCOUNT You can refer to the intelligent people in an organization or country as its brainpower . [JOURNALISM ] □  A country's principal resource is its brainpower.

brain|storm /bre I nstɔː ^r m/ (brainstorms , brainstorming , brainstormed )

1 N‑COUNT If you have a brainstorm , you suddenly become unable to think clearly. [BRIT ] □  I can have a brainstorm and be very extravagant.

2 N‑COUNT If you have a brainstorm , you suddenly have a clever idea. [AM ] □  'Look,' she said, getting a brainstorm, 'Why don't you invite them here?' in BRIT, usually use brainwave 3 VERB If a group of people brainstorm , they have a meeting in which they all put forward as many ideas and suggestions as they can think of. □ [V ] The women meet twice a month to brainstorm and set business goals for each other. □ [V n] We can brainstorm a list of the most influential individuals in the company. ●  brain|storming N‑UNCOUNT □  Hundreds of ideas had been tried and discarded during two years of brainstorming.

brai n teas|er (brain teasers ) also brain-teaser N‑COUNT A brain teaser is a question, problem, or puzzle that is difficult to answer or solve, but is not serious or important.

brain|wash /bre I nwɒʃ/ (brainwashes , brainwashing , brainwashed ) VERB If you brainwash someone, you force them to believe something by continually telling them that it is true, and preventing them from thinking about it properly. □ [V n + into ] They brainwash people into giving up all their money. □ [be V -ed to-inf] We were brainwashed to believe we were all equal. [Also V n]

brain|wave /bre I nwe I v/ (brainwaves )