traumatic brain injury

noun

: an acquired brain injury caused by external force (such as a blow to the head sustained in a motor vehicle accident or fall or shrapnel or a bullet entering through the skull)

Traumatic brain injury occurs when the shock from an explosion damages neurological fibers. Soldiers may survive a blast with scarcely a cut, only to find over time that they suffer coordination and memory loss, dizziness, insomnia.

—Nancy Gibbs

An unprotected fall, especially if the player is unconscious or his opponent lands on top of him, can result in severe traumatic brain injury.

—Michael J. Stuart et al.

broadly : acquired brain injury

—abbreviation TBI

Examples of traumatic brain injury in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The resulting injuries included a traumatic brain injury, a fractured sternum, and a right wrist injury. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024

Overcoming mental health obstacles Rossler also struggled with the effects of active combat, including tinnitus, a traumatic brain injury, a lower back injury and mental health challenges like PTSD and alcohol abuse. —Angelica Stabile, Fox News, 10 Nov. 2024

Most people without a sense of smell lose it through infection with a virus—for example, as a symptom of Covid-19—or through traumatic brain injury or neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. —Alexa Robles-Gil, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Oct. 2024

Adam was hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury, according to KCAL and CW affiliate KTLA. —Abigail Adams, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1931, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

traumatic brain injury

noun

: an acquired brain injury caused by external force (as a blow to the head sustained in a motor vehicle accident or fall or shrapnel or a bullet entering through the skull)

A soldier—or a civilian—can survive the blast without a single penetrating wound and still receive the worst diagnosis: traumatic brain injury, or TBI, the signature injury of the Iraq War.

—Michael Mason, Discover

An unprotected fall, especially if the player is unconscious or his opponent lands on top of him, can result in severe traumatic brain injury.

—Michael J. Stuart et al., USA Today

broadly : acquired brain injury

—abbreviation TBI