Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - nerve

(nerves) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Nerves are long thin fibres that transmit messages between your brain and other parts of your body. ...spinal nerves. ...in cases where the nerve fibres are severed. N-COUNT 2. If you refer to someone’s nerves, you mean their ability to cope with problems such as stress, worry, and danger. Jill’s nerves are stretched to breaking point... I can be very patient, and then I can burst if my nerves are worn out. N-PLURAL: usu poss N 3. You can refer to someone’s feelings of anxiety or tension as nerves. I just played badly. It wasn’t nerves. = nervousness N-PLURAL 4. Nerve is the courage that you need in order to do something difficult or dangerous. The brandy made him choke, but it restored his nerve... He never got up enough nerve to meet me. = courage N-UNCOUNT 5. If someone or something gets on your nerves, they annoy or irritate you. (INFORMAL) Lately he’s not done a bloody thing and it’s getting on my nerves. PHRASE: V inflects 6. If you say that someone has a nerve or has the nerve to do something, you are criticizing them for doing something which you feel they had no right to do. (INFORMAL) They’ve got a nerve, complaining about our behaviour... He had the nerve to ask me to prove who I was. PHRASE: V inflects c darkgreen]disapproval 7. If you hold your nerve or keep your nerve, you remain calm and determined in a difficult situation. He held his nerve to beat Andre Agassi in a five-set thriller on Court One... We need to keep our nerve now. = keep your cool PHRASE: V inflects 8. If you lose your nerve, you suddenly panic and become too afraid to do something that you were about to do. The bomber had lost his nerve and fled. PHRASE: V inflects 9. If you say that you have touched a nerve or touched a raw nerve, you mean that you have accidentally upset someone by talking about something that they feel strongly about or are very sensitive about. Alistair saw Henry shrink, as if the words had touched a nerve... The mere mention of John had touched a very raw nerve indeed. PHRASE: V inflects