An injury is harm or damage to a person's body. When you fall off your bike and scrape your knee, that scrape is an injury. When a basketball player twists her ankle during a game, that twisted ankle is an injury. Injuries can be small, like a paper cut, or serious, like a broken bone.

You can also injure someone's feelings or reputation without touching them physically. If a friend spreads false rumors about you, those rumors might injure your reputation at school. When someone says “to add insult to injury,” they mean making a bad situation even worse, like laughing at someone after accidentally knocking over their science project.

Doctors and nurses often talk about injuries. An injured person might need stitches, a cast, or just rest and ice. Athletes sometimes play through minor injuries, but serious ones require time to heal properly.

The word injury focuses on the harm itself, while hurt describes the pain you feel from it. Your injury might be a sprained wrist; the hurt is that aching throb when you try to move it.