1MNsomeone whose job is to look after people who are ill or injured, usually in a hospital:
The nurse is coming to give you an injection.
The school nurse sent Sara home.
a male nurse
a senior nurse
a student nurse (=someone who is learning to be a nurse)
a psychiatric nurse (=a nurse for people who are mentally ill)
a community nurse
2old-fashionedBOa woman employed to look after a young child [= nanny]
➔nursery nurse, wet nurseWORD FOCUS: hospital WORD FOCUS: hospital types of hospital:medical centerAmerican English (a big hospital) maternity hospital (for women who are having a baby) mental hospital/psychiatric hospital (for people who are mentally ill) clinic (for people receiving a particular kind of treatment) hospice (for people who are dying) nursing home (for old people) parts of a hospital:A&EalsocasualtyBritish English, emergency roomAmerican English, operating theatreBritish English/operating roomAmerican English, ward, unit people in a hospital:doctor, nurse, surgeon, patient, orderly ➔ See alsohospital
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Advanced Learner's Dictionary.