nerve
[noun]
Synonyms:
- bravery, bottle (Brit. slang), courage, daring, fearlessness, grit, guts (informal), pluck, resolution, will
- impudence, audacity, boldness, brazenness, cheek (informal), impertinence, insolence, temerity
[verb]
Synonyms:
- nerve oneself: brace oneself, fortify oneself, steel oneself

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. nerve¹ S3 W3 /nɜːv $ nɜːrv/ noun
[Word Family: adjective: nervous, nerveless, nerve-racking, nervy, unnerving; noun: nerve, nerves, nervousness; verb: nerve, unnerve; adverb: nervously]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: nervus]

1. WORRIED FEELINGS nerves [plural]
a) used to talk about someone being worried or frightened
sb’s nerves are on edge/in tatters/frayed (=someone feels very worried or frightened)
calm/steady your nerves (=stop yourself feeling worried or frightened)
Sean drank a large glass of brandy to calm his nerves.
be a bundle/bag of nerves (=be extremely worried or frightened)
I remember you were a bundle of nerves on your wedding day.
b) the feeling of being worried or a little frightened:
A lot of people suffer from nerves before they go on stage.
‘What’s wrong with Rachel?’ ‘It’s just nerves. She’s got her driving test tomorrow.’
exam/first-night etc nerves

2. BODY PART [countable] nerves are parts inside your body which look like threads and carry messages between the brain and other parts of the body:
a condition which affects the nerves in the back
trapped nerve British English pinched nerve American English (=a nerve that has been crushed between two muscles etc, causing pain)

3. COURAGE [uncountable] courage and confidence in a dangerous, difficult, or frightening situation
the nerve to do something
Not many people have the nerve to stand up and speak in front of a large audience.
She finally found the nerve to tell him she wanted a divorce.
It takes a lot of nerve to report a colleague for sexual harassment.
lose your nerve (=suddenly become very nervous so that you cannot do what you intended to do)
Jensen would’ve won if he hadn’t lost his nerve.
hold/keep your nerve (=remain calm in a difficult situation)
It’s hard to keep your nerve when people keep interrupting you.

4. get on sb’s nerves informal if someone gets on your nerves, they annoy you, especially by doing something all the time:
She’s always moaning. It really gets on my nerves.

5. LACK OF RESPECT [singular] spoken if you say someone has a nerve, you mean that they have done something unsuitable or impolite, without seeming to be embarrassed about behaving in this way Synonym : cheek:
He’s got a nerve asking for more money.
‘She didn’t say sorry or anything.’ ‘What a nerve!’
have the nerve to do something
She lets me do all the work, and then she has the nerve to criticize my cooking.

6. touch/hit a (raw) nerve to mention something that makes someone upset, angry, or embarrassed, especially accidentally:
Without realizing, he had touched a raw nerve.

7. nerves of steel the ability to be brave and calm in a dangerous or difficult situation:
The job requires nerves of steel.
⇒ strain every nerve at strain²(6)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. nerve² verb
[Word Family: adjective: nervous, nerveless, nerve-racking, nervy, unnerving; noun: nerve, nerves, nervousness; verb: nerve, unnerve; adverb: nervously]
nerve yourself to do something/for something to force yourself to be brave enough to do something:
The parachutist nerved himself for the jump.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

nerve
noun
I. in the body
ADJ. sensitive, trapped | facial, optic, spinal, etc.
VERB + NERVE damage, strain, trap I've trapped a nerve in my spine.
NERVE + VERB go, lead, run The nerve runs from the eye to the brain.
transmit sth The nerves transmit pain.
throb He lay awake, his nerves throbbing.
NERVE + NOUN cell, end, ending, fibre, tissue | pathway | impulse | damage, injury | gas
PREP. along a/the ~ The message travels along the nerve to the brain.
~ in He's been off work with a trapped nerve in his back.
~ to Cutting the nerves to the stomach does not affect hunger.
PHRASES every nerve in sb's body Intense pain shot through every nerve in his body.
hit a nerve, touch a (sensitive/raw) nerve (figurative) My remarks about divorce had unwittingly touched a raw nerve.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

nerve
II. nerves: mental state
ADJ. good, steady | bad, frayed, ragged, shattered, taut At the end of a day's teaching, her nerves were absolutely shattered.
VERB + NERVE stretch Her nerves were stretched to breaking point.
NERVE + VERB be on edge After the bomb, my nerves were on edge.
jangle His nerves jangled every time the phone rang.
stand I'm not sure my nerves can stand another night like this.
PREP. ~s for Skydiving is all right for people who've got the nerves for it.
PHRASES a battle/war of nerves The union has been fighting a war of nerves with the management over pay.
get on sb's nerves His endless whining really gets on my nerves.
nerves of steel You need nerves of steel to be a good poker player.
a strain on sb's nerves Looking after him while he was so ill has been a great strain on her nerves.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

nerve
III. nerves: nervous state
ADJ. exam, first-night I've never suffered from first-night nerves.
VERB + NERVE calm, control, soothe, steady She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.
suffer from
PHRASES an attack of nerves I had an attack of nerves just before I went on stage.
a bag/bundle/mass of nerves By the time of the interview, I was a bundle of nerves.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

nerve
IV. courage
ADJ. sufficient
VERB + NERVE have I didn't have the nerve to ask.
lack | lose At the last minute she almost lost her nerve.
keep He kept his nerve to win a thrilling match.
find You must find the nerve to ask for more money.
take It took a lot of nerve to stand up and speak.
NERVE + VERB break, crack, fail (sb) At the last moment her nerve failed her.
PHRASES a failure/loss of nerve, a test of nerve Singing in front of so many people was a real test of nerve.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

nerve

calm/steady somebody's nerves (=make someone feel less worried or nervous)
She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves.
settle/soothe somebody's nerves (=make someone feel less worried or nervous)
She hoped that a cup of tea would soothe her nerves.
suffer from nerves (=often feel worried or nervous)
He suffered from nerves and could no longer perform on stage.
your nerves jangle (=you feel extremely nervous or worried)
Suddenly she was wide awake, her nerves jangling.
exam nerves
Quite a few of the students suffered from exam nerves.
first-night nerves (=before the first night of a performance)
She always suffered from first-night nerves.
somebody's nerves are on edge (=they feel nervous or worried about what might happen)
His nerves were on edge as he entered the dark room.
somebody's nerves are tattered/frayed/shattered (=they feel very nervous or worried)
Everyone's nerves were frayed by the end of the week.
somebody's nerves are stretched (to breaking point) (=they feel very nervous or worried)
Her nerves were stretched almost to breaking point as she waited.
be a bag/bundle of nerves (=to feel extremely nervous or worried)
I was a bag of nerves during the interview.
be shaking with nerves (=to be extremely nervous)
Just before the audition he was shaking with nerves.
be in a state of nerves (=to be in a nervous condition)
She was in such a state of nerves that she jumped at every noise.
an attack of nerves (=a time when you feel very nervous)
Harrison had an attack of nerves before the match.
have the nerve to do something
I just didn't have the nerve to tell them the truth.
find the nerve to do something
He couldn't find the nerve to ask her out.
hold/keep your nerve (=remain calm and confident in a difficult situation)
The team held their nerve and went on to win.
lose your nerve (=suddenly lose the courage or confidence to do something)
I wanted to ask him the question, but I lost my nerve.
test somebody's nerve (=test whether someone will have the courage to do something difficult)
The next few days would test their nerve to the limit.
somebody's nerve fails (him/her) (=someone suddenly loses the courage or confidence to do something)
At the last moment, her nerve failed her.
somebody's nerve breaks (=someone loses the courage to do something or continue something)
The police hoped his nerve would break and he'd give himself away.
it takes nerve to do something (=something requires a lot of courage or confidence)
It takes nerve to stand up for what you believe.
a failure/loss of nerve (=a situation in which someone lacks the courage to do something)
They accused the government of a loss of nerve.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

nerve
nə:v
See: get on one's nerves , get up the nerve

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲