nerve

damage, strain, trap

The dentist explained that the infection had damaged a nerve in my tooth.

go, lead, run

A major nerve goes from your spine down to your leg.

transmit sth

The damaged nerve transmitted signals to her brain, causing numbness in her foot.

throb

After the accident, her nerves throbbed painfully whenever she tried to relax.

along a/the ~

Electrical signals travel along nerves to tell your muscles when to move.

~ in

She felt a sharp pain from a pinched nerve in her shoulder.

~ to

The surgeon carefully separated the damaged nerve to her hand during the operation.

every nerve in sb's body

When she heard the strange noise, every nerve in her body tensed with fear.

hit a nerve, touch a (sensitive/raw) nerve

When I mentioned his failed business, I could tell my comment had hit a nerve.

bad, frayed, ragged, shattered, taut

After the loud argument with his boss, his nerves were completely frayed.

stretch

Waiting for the exam results really stretched my nerves over those two weeks.

be on edge

My nerves were on edge during the job interview because I really wanted the position.

jangle

My nerves were jangling as I waited backstage to perform in front of the large audience.

stand

My nerves couldn't stand the suspense of waiting for the test results.

~s for

You need real nerves for public speaking if you want to succeed in that career.

a battle/war of nerves

During the tennis match, the two players engaged in a real battle of nerves before the final set.

get on sb's nerves

It gets on my nerves when people check their phones during conversations.

nerves of steel

The surgeon had nerves of steel during the emergency operation last night.

a strain on sb's nerves

The constant noise from the construction site next door has been a real strain on my nerves.

exam, first-night

She felt terrible exam nerves the night before her driving test.

calm, control, soothe, steady

He listened to music before the exam to soothe his nerves.

an attack of nerves

She got an attack of nerves when she had to give her presentation at work.

a bag/bundle/mass of nerves

She felt like a bundle of nerves waiting for her exam results to arrive in the mail.

have

She didn't have the nerve to speak up during the meeting, so she stayed silent.

lose

When the interviewer asked a difficult question, he nearly lost his nerve and forgot what to say.

keep

The goalkeeper managed to keep her nerve during the final penalty kick.

find

She finally found the nerve to tell her boss she was leaving her job.

take

She took tremendous nerve to quit her job and start her own business.

break, crack, fail (sb)

His nerve cracked when he saw how high the building was.

a failure/loss of nerve, a test of nerve

The mountain climber showed a loss of nerve when she looked down from the cliff.