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

Trump criticizes transgender athletes The President used part of his speech to spotlight Payton McNabb, a former high school volleyball player whose athletic career was derailed after sustaining a traumatic brain injury in a match against a team that included a transgender woman. —Nik Popli, TIME, 5 Mar. 2025

Proteus is considered a bad or dangerous weapon by viewers as it's depicted as a top-secret neurological weapon that can inflict a traumatic brain injury on a target. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025

Mark your calendar March is health awareness month for bleeding disorders, multiple sclerosis, colorectal cancer, endometriosis, trisomy, traumatic brain injury and kidneys (March 1-15 for the one on the left and March 16-31 for the one on the right). —Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2025

One, named Andrii, had lost both legs, an eye, his hearing and suffered a traumatic brain injury. —Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 22 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