pain

pain¹ W2S2 [peın] n

[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: peine, from Latin poena, from Greek poine 'payment, punishment']

1.) [U and C]

the feeling you have when part of your body hurts

pain in

▪ The pain in her jaw had come back.

▪ I had a nasty pain in my leg.

▪ Greg was in a lot of pain .

▪ If you suffer from back pain , consult your doctor before attempting this exercise.

▪ The patient complained of severe chest pains .

▪ She felt a sharp pain in her stomach

▪ Morphine is used to relieve pain .

▪ drugs for pain relief

▪ She hated the thought of anyone inflicting pain on an animal.

▪ a few minor aches and pains

→↑growing pains

2.) [U and C]

the feeling of unhappiness you have when you are sad, upset, etc

▪ the pain and grief of bereavement

cause (sb) pain/inflict pain on sb

▪ She hated to say the words, for fear of causing pain.

3.) be a pain (in the neck)

spoken also be a pain in the ass/arse/backside/butt not polite

to be very annoying

▪ There were times when Joe could be a real pain in the neck.

▪ It's a pain, having to go upstairs to make the coffee every time.

4.) take/go to (great) pains to do sth also take pains with/over sth

to make a special effort to do something

▪ He's taken great pains to improve his image.

5.) be at pains to do sth

to be especially careful to make sure people understand what you are saying or what you plan to do

▪ Roy was at pains to point out that English was the only exam he'd ever failed.

6.) for your pains

as a reward for something you worked to achieve - used especially when this is disappointing

▪ I fetched the file, and all I got for my pains was a dirty look from Simon.

7.) on/under pain of death

at the risk of being killed as punishment, if you do not obey

▪ Communist activity was prohibited on pain of death.

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COLLOCATES for sense 1

have a pain in your stomach/leg/side etc

be in pain

chest pain/back pain/neck pain etc

severe/terrible/chronic pain

sharp pain (=a short but severe pain)

excruciating pain (=very severe pain)

dull pain (=one that is not severe but continues for a long time)

nagging pain (=one that continues for a long time and keepsbothering you)

shooting pain (=a severe pain that starts in one place then quickly moves to another)

ease/relieve/kill pain

pain relief/control

inflict pain (on somebody)

labour pains (=pain felt by a woman who is starting to have a baby)

aches and pains (=slight feelings of pain that are not very serious)

WORD FOCUS: pain

pain in different parts of your body: headache, backache, toothache, earache, stomach ache, my leg/arm/neck etc hurts

to feel a lot of pain: be in agony

what you say when something hurts: ouch

See also: painful, sore, twinge

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pain ²

pain² v [T]

it pains sb to do sth

formal used to say that it is very difficult and upsetting for someone to have to do something