brains

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Informal

n. the person who plans or organises a complicated task.

n. the principal planner or organiser of a collective activity. Usually used with the definite article.

“She was the brains behind the whole project.”

“While the rest of the team handled the execution, Sarah was undoubtedly the brains behind the entire marketing strategy.”

A2 · Elementary Countable noun Science

n. more than one brain; the organs inside the heads of humans or animals.

n. the plural form of the physical organ; also used to refer to the brain of an animal used as food.

“The scientist compared the brains of several different bird species.”

“The study examined how the brains of mammals adapt to extreme temperature fluctuations in the wild.”

C2 · Proficiency Informal · Slang

v. to hit someone very hard on the head.

v. to strike someone heavily on the head, or to kill by smashing the skull. Transitive use.

“In the movie, the hero brains the monster with a heavy rock.”

“The protagonist narrowly escapes when he brains his attacker with a nearby fire extinguisher.”