Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - nerve

~1 n 1 »FEELINGS« nerves the feeling of being nervous because you are worried or a little frightened  ("What's wrong?" "It's just nerves. He's got his exams tomorrow." | be a bundle/bag of nerves informal (=be extremely worrid or frightened))  (I remember you were a bundle of nerves on your wedding day. | calm/steady your nerves (=stop yourself feeling worried or frightened))  (Sean drank a large glass of brandy to calm his nerves. | live on your nerves (=be always worried))  (He's the type of person who lives on his nerves.) 2 get on sb's nerves informal to annoy someone, especially by repeatedly doing something  (She's always moaning. It really gets on my nerves.) 3 »COURAGE« the ability to stay calm and confident in a dangerous, difficult or frightening situation  (have the nerve to do sth)  (Not many people have the nerve to stand up and speak in front of a large audience. | it takes a lot of nerve to do sth spoken)  (It takes a lot of nerve to report a colleague for sexual harassment. | lose your nerve)  (He'd have won if he hadn't lost his nerve.) 4 have a nerve spoken to be surprisingly rude without seeming ashamed or embarrassed  (He's got a nerve asking for more money. | have the nerve to do sth)  (She lets me do all the work, and then she has the nerve to criticise my cooking. | what a nerve!)  (What a bloody nerve! Telling me how to do something I've been doing for years!) 5 »BODY PART« one of the thin parts like threads inside your body, along which feelings and messages are sent to the brain  (The dentist was drilling and he hit a nerve. The pain was incredible!) 6 hit/touch a raw nerve to say something that someone else is very sensitive about especially accidentally  (- see also touch a raw nerve raw1 (6), strain every nerve strain1 (7)) ~2 v nerve yourself to force yourself to be brave enough to do something difficult or dangerous + for  (The parachutist nerved himself for the jump.)