How to Use sprain in a Sentence

sprain

1 of 2 noun
  • Turf toe is a sprain of the main joint of the big toe.
    Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Nacua missed just one game with his ankle sprain.
    Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 27 Oct. 2025
  • When it's sprained, it's known as a high ankle sprain.
    Mark Gurarie, Health, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Joe Alt is out with a high ankle sprain.
    Daniel Popper, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Aneesah Morrow was out with a leg sprain.
    Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 9 June 2026
  • Dorka Juhász has a mid-foot sprain.
    Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 8 May 2026
  • And then Jaquez was lost with that ankle sprain.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
  • Likely a mild midfoot sprain and a bone bruise.
    Matt Audilet, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Oct. 2025
  • His year was slowed, though, by a high ankle sprain that cost him five weeks.
    Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
  • For a mild sprain, taping the ankle can help.
    Mark Gurarie, Health, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The cause this time was announced as a left ankle sprain.
    Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2025
  • Bilodeau was ruled out with a knee sprain shortly before the game.
    Daily News, 21 Mar. 2026
  • Clifford has missed the past two games with a left midfoot sprain.
    Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Flagg missed his sixth straight game because of a left midfoot sprain.
    Brad Townsend, Dallas Morning News, 27 Feb. 2026
  • Devin Booker is out with an ankle sprain.
    The Athletic Nba Staff, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Lewis returned from a knee sprain on Tuesday.
    Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Alt has already missed time this season with an ankle sprain.
    Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Peterson played through the sprain, but didn’t look like his usual self.
    Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2026
  • Day’Ron Sharpe, out for the season, missed the game with a left thumb sprain.
    C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 14 Mar. 2026
  • It also is used for bruising, joint pain, sprains, swelling and healing wounds.
    Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
  • The star quarterback suffered a mid-foot sprain.
    Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Clifford is expected to miss at least a week with a left midfoot sprain.
    Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 24 Mar. 2026
  • Taylor is healthy after missing more than a week with a high-ankle sprain.
    Drew Vonscio, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
  • Keegan Murray is still out with a left ankle sprain.
    Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Dylan Cardwell is out with a left ankle sprain.
    Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Clifford had missed the previous two games with a left midfoot sprain.
    Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Spoelstra said Dru Smith (right big toe sprain) likely will not play.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2026
  • The most notable, of course, is Daniels, whose knee sprain has sidelined him for the last two weeks.
    Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Alex Bump was playing with an MCL sprain.
    Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 14 May 2026

sprain

2 of 2 verb
  • When it's sprained, it's known as a high ankle sprain.
    Mark Gurarie, Health, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Treat sprains and strains with an ice pack and elastic bandage.
    The Editors, Field & Stream, 27 Apr. 2020
  • That way they’re primed for the movements to come, and less likely to be sprained.
    Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 20 Feb. 2024
  • Perdomo sprained his ankle on the play and left the game.
    Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2026
  • Don’t sprain anything or twist anything or lose your balance.
    Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 4 Aug. 2021
  • Perez sprained his knee after spring training and missed the first three weeks of the season.
    Maria Torres, kansascity, 16 June 2018
  • These are signs that it may be broken or dislocated rather than just sprained.
    Stacey Colino, Parents, 20 Sep. 2023
  • The previous week, Al-Shaair sprained his right knee.
    Dan Pompei, New York Times, 23 June 2026
  • He was being taken to the hoop, landed on his left ankle weird, sprained it.
    Stan Son, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Hilinski, who sprained his knee in the Georgia win, was not sharp for most of this game.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Oct. 2019
  • Our cul-de-sac crew has thrown out two backs, sprained at least two ankles and seen a couple cases of road rash.
    Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Same for Bichette, who sprained his knee, and Turner, who strained his hamstring.
    Chad Jennings, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Moon had sprained his right ankle against Detroit in Week 1, then sat out a week.
    Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 1 June 2026
  • Chark sprained his left ankle Sunday and remains in a walking boot.
    Mark Long, orlandosentinel.com, 9 Dec. 2019
  • Adebayo, who missed only four games last season, sat out for the first time this season with a sprained left big toe.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 8 Nov. 2025
  • After a night out and a few too many drinks, Poppy falls over a sidewalk curb and sprains her ankle.
    Ashley Boucher, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Jan. 2026
  • Also, skydivers have been known to sprain their ankles or scrape up their knees even while landing with a parachute.
    Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 27 Sep. 2021
  • Hawkins, who sprained his ankle in the Iowa loss on Monday, was ruled out before the game.
    Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 18 Jan. 2024
  • Their plan as a group, to the gardeners who know, Was to fracture your ankles and sprain all your toes.
    Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 16 Dec. 2022
  • The tussocks, which are tricky to walk on and even trickier to walk between, seemed built to sprain or break an ankle.
    Emily Pennington, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Jan. 2023
  • That, in turn, has led the 5-foot-8 senior to bruise, skin and sprain her hands, arms and legs countless times over the years.
    Edward Lee, baltimoresun.com, 22 Oct. 2021
  • Why are there seven bones in our ankle and eight in our wrist, like a useless pile of rocks, good for nothing but sprains and strains?
    Nathan H. Lents, WSJ, 13 Apr. 2018
  • The team can only hope that Arcia sprained his ankle and nothing worse in the eighth inning.
    Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2018
  • Kline sprained her ankle over the winter twice and then again rounding second base in a preseason game this spring.
    C.j. Doon, baltimoresun.com, 7 July 2018
  • George sprained his knee in late March and wouldn’t have been cleared until early May, Frank said.
    Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2023
  • Starting small forward Leaky Black was ruled day to day after spraining his foot.
    Laine Higgins, WSJ, 6 Feb. 2020
  • Domínguez has missed over a month after spraining his AC joint and has played in five rehab games in the past week.
    Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 13 June 2026
  • Jalen Brunson sprained his ankle after trying to step back while dribbling.
    Stan Son, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Jayson Tatum, an elite wing scorer, sprained his ankle early in the tournament and didn’t play for the rest of it.
    Chris Mannix, SI.com, 17 Sep. 2019
  • The 24-year-old Cardoso sprained his ankle during training last week.
    ABC News, 11 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sprain.' 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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