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

Roadside bombs hit his convoys repeatedly and left him with traumatic brain injuries. —Quil Lawrence, NPR, 22 Mar. 2025

Concussion: Caused by a physical impact to the head, a concussion is a traumatic brain injury that can range in severity from mild to severe. —Laura Schober, Health, 20 Mar. 2025

In 2014, Morgan was involved in a multi-vehicle collision that left the comedian with several broken ribs and traumatic brain injury. —Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2025

An astronaut suffering a broken arm or a traumatic brain injury during a mission would have a persistent impairment. —Jesse Rhoades, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 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