How to Use nerve in a Sentence

nerve

noun
  • He found the nerve to stand up to his boss.
  • You have a lot of nerve to talk to me that way.
  • The optic nerve in the eye allows you to see.
  • I can't believe she had the nerve to call me a liar.
  • It takes a lot of nerve to start a new career.
  • I was going to ask her to the dance, but I lost my nerve.
  • Not that the nerves didn’t get to him.
    — Shun Graves, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026
  • Big league nerves got the best of him.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 27 Mar. 2026
  • This time, that spike wasn’t due to nerves.
    — Ryan Brennan april 14, Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2026
  • The stage was ripe for nerves, at the very least.
    — Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Charles and William need that same nerve.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 28 Mar. 2026
  • That means firm greens, a fast course and frayed nerves.
    — Doug Ferguson, Twin Cities, 9 Apr. 2026
  • How do nerves appear in the kitchen?
    — Emily Bloch, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Anything would do to calm the nerves.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2026
  • The video struck a nerve online.
    — Ryan Brennan april 8, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2026
  • The ride did require some nerve.
    — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
  • And the nerve of those fake news outlets!
    — Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
  • But now the nerves were starting.
    — Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Mar. 2026
  • None wanted to be the next to lose his nerve.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 18 May 2026
  • How did those nerves affect you?
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 24 Feb. 2026
  • His nerves were frayed and his sleep suffered.
    — Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026
  • But no one has the heart right now, or the nerve, to dream that big.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
  • That turned out to be just a citywide case of nerves.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
  • The sight of these avalanche safety packs calmed my nerves.
    — Brent Rose, Outside, 28 Feb. 2026
  • Clarke had severed a nerve and got hand surgery the next day.
    — Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 4 Mar. 2024
  • There were nerves in the first inning and nerves the whole time.
    — CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
  • And yet Corfino tried to calm my nerves.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2026
  • If nerves come up, that’s part of the process, not a reason to stop.
    — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2026
  • My damaged nerve is going to take a lot of time.
    — Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
  • My clients had the nerve to go on and succeed without him.
    — Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nerve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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