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

It was devised to cause a traumatic brain injury from a distance in so precise a manner as to be untraceable. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025

Yarl was 16 at the time of the shooting and suffered a traumatic brain injury, according to his family. —Deena Zaru, ABC News, 19 Feb. 2025

According to a GoFundMe page started to help the father of the two oldest children, the girl suffered severe traumatic brain injury and is in critical condition. —Christine Pelisek, People.com, 13 Feb. 2025

Thousands of servicemen and women suffered grave wounds or traumatic brain injuries. —Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025

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