countless: She brought joy to countless people through her music.
nu|mi|nous /njuː m I nəs, [AM ] nuː m-/ ADJ Things that are numinous seem holy or spiritual and mysterious. [LITERARY ] □ The account of spiritual struggle that follows has a humbling and numinous power.
nun /nʌ n/ (nuns ) N‑COUNT A nun is a member of a female religious community. □ Mr Thomas was taught by the Catholic nuns whose school he attended.
nun|cio /nʌ nsioʊ/ (nuncios ) N‑COUNT In the Roman Catholic church, a nuncio is an official who represents the Pope in a foreign country. □ …the papal nuncio.
nun|nery /nʌ nəri/ (nunneries ) N‑COUNT A nunnery is a group of buildings in which a community of nuns live together. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
nup|tial /nʌ pʃ ə l/ (nuptials )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Nuptial is used to refer to things relating to a wedding or to marriage. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ I went to the room which he had called the nuptial chamber.
2 N‑PLURAL [usu with poss] Someone's nuptials are their wedding celebrations. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ She became immersed in planning her nuptials.
nurse ◆◇◇ /nɜː r s/ (nurses , nursing , nursed )
1 N‑COUNT ; N‑TITLE A nurse is a person whose job is to care for people who are ill. □ She had spent 29 years as a nurse. □ Patients were dying because of an acute shortage of nurses.
2 VERB If you nurse someone, you care for them when they are ill. □ [V n] All the years he was sick, my mother had nursed him. □ [V n + back ] She rushed home to nurse her daughter back to health.
3 VERB If you nurse an illness or injury, you allow it to get better by resting as much as possible. □ [V n] We're going to go home and nurse our colds.
4 VERB If you nurse an emotion or desire, you feel it strongly for a long time. □ [V n] Jane still nurses the pain of rejection. □ [V n] He had nursed an ambition to lead his own big orchestra.
5 VERB When a baby nurses or when its mother nurses it, it feeds by sucking milk from its mother's breast. [OLD-FASHIONED ] □ [V ] Most authorities recommend letting the baby nurse whenever it wants. □ [V n] …young women nursing babies. □ [V -ing] Young people and nursing mothers are exempted from charges.
6 → see also nursery nurse , nursing , wet nurse COLLOCATIONS nurse NOUN 1
noun + nurse : agency, practice, student, trainee
adjective + nurse : cardiac, dental, paediatric, psychiatric; veterinary; qualified, trained
nurse|maid /nɜː r sme I d/ (nursemaids ) N‑COUNT A nursemaid is a woman or girl who is paid to look after young children. [AM , also BRIT , OLD-FASHIONED ]
nurse|ry /nɜː r səri/ (nurseries )
1 N‑COUNT [oft at/from/to N ] A nursery is a place where children who are not old enough to go to school are looked after. □ This nursery will be able to cater for 29 children. □ Her company ran its own workplace nursery.
2 → see also day nursery
3 N‑VAR [oft N n] Nursery is a school for very young children. □ An affordable nursery education service is an essential basic amenity. □ …a nursery teacher.
4 N‑COUNT A nursery is a room in a family home in which the young children of the family sleep or play. □ He has painted murals in his children's nursery.
5 N‑COUNT A nursery is a place where plants are grown in order to be sold. □ The garden, developed over the past 35 years, includes a nursery.
nursery|man /nɜː r sərimən/ (nurserymen ) N‑COUNT A nurseryman is a man who works in a place where young plants are grown in order to be sold.
nu rse|ry nurse (nursery nurses ) N‑COUNT A nursery nurse is a person who has been trained to look after very young children. [BRIT ]
nu rse|ry rhyme (nursery rhymes ) N‑COUNT A nursery rhyme is a poem or song for young children, especially one that is old or well known.
nu rse|ry school (nursery schools ) N‑VAR A nursery school or a nursery is a school for very young children. □ The availability of nursery school places varies widely across London.
nurs|ing /nɜː r s I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT Nursing is the profession of looking after people who are ill. □ She had no aptitude for nursing. □ Does the nursing staff seem to care?
nu rs|ing bot|tle (nursing bottles ) N‑COUNT A nursing bottle is a plastic bottle with a special rubber top through which a baby can suck milk or another liquid. [AM ] in BRIT, use feeding bottle
nu rs|ing home (nursing homes ) N‑COUNT A nursing home is a private hospital, especially one for old people. □ He died in a nursing home at the age of 87.
nur|ture /nɜː r tʃə r / (nurtures , nurturing , nurtured )
1 VERB If you nurture something such as a young child or a young plant, you care for it while it is growing and developing. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] Parents want to know the best way to nurture and raise their child to adulthood. □ [V n] The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. ● nur|tur|ing ADJ □ She was not receiving warm nurturing care. ● nur|tur|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ Which adult in these children's lives will provide the nurturing they need?
2 VERB If you nurture plans, ideas, or people, you encourage them or help them to develop. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] She had always nurtured great ambitions for her son. □ [be V -ed] …parents whose political views were nurtured in the sixties. ● nur|tur|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] The decision to cut back on film-making had a catastrophic effect on the nurturing of new talent.