- [countable]
the organ inside the head that controls movement, thought, memory and feeling 脑 
The human brain is a complex organ. 人脑是一个复杂的器官。 My tired brain couldn't cope with such a complex problem. 我疲劳的大脑无法应付如此复杂的问题。 There may have been some brain damage. 可能有些脑损伤。 brain cells/tissue 脑细胞/组织 a brain tumour/haemorrhage/injury 脑瘤/出血/损伤 Sometimes the doctor will also do a brain scan. 有时候医生也会做脑部扫描。 brain surgery 脑外科。
Extra ExamplesTopics Bodya2He had a brain scan to search for possible damage. 他做了个脑扫描检查是否有损伤。 He was found to have a blood clot on his brain. 他的脑部发现有血块。 His brain reeled as he realized the implication of his dismissal. 当意识到这是暗示要解雇他时，他的大脑一阵眩晕。 The left brain controls the right-hand side of the body. 左脑控制人的右半身。 The stopping distance includes the time taken for the brain to register the need to stop. 制动停车距离涵盖了大脑意识到必须停车所需要的时间。 Electrodes were used to measure brain activity during sleep. 用电极来检测睡眠时脑部的活动。 Fruit eating primates have relatively larger brains than those that eat leaves. 吃水果的灵长类动物比吃树叶的灵长类动物大脑相对较大。 She died of a brain tumour. 她死于脑瘤。 a device to measure brain activity during sleep 检测睡眠时脑部活动的仪器 There has been some loss of brain function. 大脑功能有些丧失。 She is Britain's youngest female brain surgeon. 她是英国最年轻的女脑外科医生。 The scan apparently showed no damage to the brain. 扫描检查清楚显示脑部没有受到损伤。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- human
- left
- right
- …
- cell
- tissue
- region
- …
- in the/your brain
- on the/your brain
- blow your brains out
- brains[plural]
the brain of an animal, eaten as food （供食用的）动物脑髓 sheep’s brains 羊脑
- [uncountable, countable, usually plural]
the ability to learn quickly and think about things in a logical and intelligent way 智力；脑力；逻辑思维能力 It doesn't take much brain to work out that both stories can't be true. 不必费多大脑筋就知道，两种说法不可能都是真的。 Teachers spotted that he had a good brain at an early age. 老师们发现他小时候就很聪颖。 You need brains as well as brawn (= intelligence as well as strength) to do this job. 这项工作既需要脑力又需要体力。
Extra ExamplesShe has a good brain for mathematics. 她很有数学头脑。 Jack's got the brain to realize that the money won't last forever. 杰克有头脑认识到钱不会永远存在。 They relied on brains rather than brawn. 他们靠的是脑力，而不是体力。 She must have inherited her mother's brains. 她一定是遗传了她母亲的才智。 Teachers spotted early on that he had a good brain. 老师们很早就发现他很有头脑。 It's important to keep your brain ticking over. 经常开动脑筋很重要。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- fertile
- fine
- good
- …
- rack
- pick somebody’s
- take
- …
- function
- tick over
- work
- …
- power
- drain
- brain behind
- brains, not brawn
- etc.
- have a brain for something
- …
- [countable, usually plural] (informal)
an intelligent person 聪明的人；有智慧的人 one of the best scientific brains in the country 国家最优秀的科技人才之一 We have the best scientific brains in the country working on this. 我们有国家最优秀的科技人才为此出力。
- the brains[singular]
the most intelligent person in a particular group; the person who is responsible for thinking of and organizing something （群体中）最聪明的人；策划组织者 He's always been the brains of the family. 这家人数他聪明。 - the brains behind something
The band's drummer is the brains behind their latest venture. 这位乐队鼓手是他们最近一次活动的策划人。 He was the brains behind the robberies. 他是劫案背后的谋划者。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- fertile
- fine
- good
- …
- rack
- pick somebody’s
- take
- …
- function
- tick over
- work
- …
- power
- drain
- brain behind
- brains, not brawn
- etc.
- have a brain for something
- …
in head头
food食物
intelligence智力
intelligent person聪明人
Word OriginOld English brægen, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch brein.
Idioms
beat your brains out
- (informal, especially North American English)
to think very hard about something for a long time 绞尽脑汁；反复推敲 I’ve been beating my brains out all weekend to get this script written. 整个周末我都在绞尽脑汁写这个剧本。
blow your/somebody’s brains out
to kill yourself/somebody by shooting yourself/them in the head 枪击头部自杀／杀人 He put a gun to his head and threatened to blow his brains out. 他用枪指着他的头，威胁说要让他脑袋开花。 While cleaning his shotgun he had accidentally blown his own brains out. 他擦猎枪时意外走火，打烂了自己的脑袋。
cudgel your brains
- (old-fashioned, British English)
to think very hard 冥思苦想；绞尽脑汁 I had to cudgel my brains to remember her name. 我不得不绞尽脑汁来记住她的名字。
have something on the brain
- (informal)
to think about something all the time, especially in a way that is annoying 某事萦绕心头；过分热衷 He's got football on the brain. 他对足球非常着迷。
pick somebody’s brains
- (informal)
to ask somebody a lot of questions about something because they know more about the subject than you do 讨教；请教；不断地问（以向别人学习） I need to pick your brains: what can you tell me about credit unions? 我向您请教一下：您能告诉我信用合作社是怎么回事吗？
rack your brain(s)