brace

American  

[brays] / breɪs /

noun

• braces
  plural

1. something that holds parts together or in place, as a clasp or clamp.

   Synonyms:

   vise

2. anything that imparts rigidity or steadiness.

3. Building Trades. a piece of timber, metal, etc., for supporting or positioning another piece or portion of a framework.

   Synonyms:

   strut, prop, stay

4. Orthodontics. Usually braces an appliance made of metal or plastic, worn on the surface of the teeth to straighten them through gradual pressure: The patient needed a brace only on the upper teeth.

   I wore braces for several years.

   The patient needed a brace only on the upper teeth.

5. Medicine/Medical. an appliance or compression sleeve for supporting a weak joint or joints.

6. Printing. curly bracket.

7. Music. connected staves one below the other, such as for different voices or instruments, or for left and right hand in keyboard music.

8. Chiefly British. braces suspenders.

9. a pair; couple.

   The hunter had a brace of hounds at his side.

10. Also called bitbrace, bitstock. Machinery. a device for holding and turning a bit for boring or drilling.

11. Music. leather loops sliding upon the tightening cords of a drum to change their tension and the drum's pitch.

12. Nautical. (on a square-rigged ship) a rope by which a yard is swung about and secured horizontally.

13. a protective band covering the wrist or lower part of the arm, especially one worn in archery to protect the bow hand from the snap of the bowstring.

14. Military. a position of attention with exaggeratedly stiff posture.

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verb (used with object)

• braces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• braced,
  past participle,  past
• bracing
  present participle

1. to furnish, fasten, or strengthen with or as if with a brace.

   Synonyms:

   prop, fortify, support

2. to fix firmly; make steady; secure against pressure or impact.

   He braces himself when the ship rolls. Brace yourself for some bad news.

3. to make tight; increase the tension of.

   Synonyms:

   tense, tauten

4. to act as a stimulant to.

   Synonyms:

   fortify

5. Nautical. to swing or turn around (the yards of a ship) by means of the braces.

6. Military. to order (a subordinate) to assume and maintain a position of attention with exaggeratedly stiff posture.

verb (used without object)

• braces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• braced,
  past participle,  past
• bracing
  present participle

1. Military. to assume a position of attention with exaggeratedly stiff posture.

verb phrase

1. brace in to brace (the yards of a square-rigged vessel) more nearly athwartships, as for running free.

idioms

1. brace up, to summon up one's courage; become resolute.

   She choked back her tears and braced up.

brace British  

/ breɪs /

noun

1. In full: hand brace. a hand tool for drilling holes, with a socket to hold the drill at one end and a cranked handle by which the tool can be turned See also brace and bit

2. something that steadies, binds, or holds up another thing

3. a structural member, such as a beam or prop, used to stiffen a framework

4. a sliding loop, usually of leather, attached to the cords of a drum: used to change its tension

5. a pair; two, esp of game birds

   a brace of partridges

6. either of a pair of characters, { }, used for connecting lines of printing or writing or as a third sign of aggregation in complex mathematical or logical expressions that already contain parentheses and square brackets

7. Also called: accolade. a line or bracket connecting two or more staves of music

8. (often plural) an appliance of metal bands and wires that can be tightened to maintain steady pressure on the teeth for correcting uneven alignment

9. med any of various appliances for supporting the trunk, a limb, or teeth

10. another word for bracer 2

11. (in square-rigged sailing ships) a rope that controls the movement of a yard and thus the position of a sail

12. See braces

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verb

1. to provide, strengthen, or fit with a brace

2. to steady or prepare (oneself or something) as before an impact

3. (also intr) to stimulate; freshen; invigorate

   sea air is bracing

4. to control the horizontal movement of (the yards of a square-rigged sailing ship)

Synonym Usage

See pair.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underbrace
  noun
• overbrace
  verb (used with object)
• rebrace
  verb (used with object)
• underbrace
  verb (used with object)
• well-braced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• braces
  plural

Participles

• bracing
  present
• braced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• brace
  simple
• braces
  simple
• have braced
  perfect
• has braced
  perfect
• am bracing
  progressive
• are bracing
  progressive
• is bracing
  progressive
• have been bracing
  perfect progressive
• has been bracing
  perfect progressive

Past

• braced
  simple
• had braced
  perfect
• was bracing
  progressive
• were bracing
  progressive
• had been bracing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will brace
  simple
• will have braced
  perfect
• will be bracing
  progressive
• will have been bracing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of brace

First recorded in 1300–50; (for the noun) Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French: “pair of arms,” from Latin brā(c)chia plural (taken as feminine singular) of brā(c)chium “arm” (from Greek; see brachium); (for the verb) in part Middle English bracen (from Anglo-French bracier, derivative of brace; cf. embrace ¹), in part derivative of the noun

Explanation

A brace is a support that helps to steady or strengthen, and to brace is to prepare for something hard. So brace yourself for that impromptu meeting with your boss if you haven't been performing well. We all know the braces that straighten teeth and keep injured knees in line. But in verb form, brace means to bolster or steady. “Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather,” said John Ruskin, the English writer and cultural critic. He means the wind supports us with its uplifting powers — although those living in tornado country might disagree.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brace braces braced bracing

"Those are things that are definitely affected by storms and El Niño. I would try to brace myself for that as well."

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

But you’d be wise to keep proving your worth and brace for a modest raise, if you get one at all.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

U.S. drivers also might want to brace for gas prices to rise in the weeks ahead from their current average of $4.32 a gallon at the pump.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

As marine mammal rehabilitators brace for the grim possibility of mass strandings in Southern California, rescuers on beaches to the north worry about another dynamic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

“I’m not stopping you, child. Give it one strong swipe. Then we’ll all brace ourselves.”

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

The studies evaluated 12 different approaches, including laser therapy, electrical stimulation, knee braces, insoles, kinesiology tape, water-based therapy, exercise, and ultrasound.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026

“Modeling was performing, but I had braces and noticed I was chubbier than everybody else, creating new anxieties. To be 11, 12, and 13 just sucked.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

Their meeting comes as the 27-member European Union braces for tough negotiations to agree a joint budget for the seven-year stretch 2028-34.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

The wrist braces resemble the kind sold at a drugstore to help with tendon pain, the only difference being each comes equipped with a 7-pound weight at the end.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

“I guess I did. Probably not anymore, once my braces come off.”

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

The Treasury selloff eased, keeping yields just below multiyear highs, as oil prices slipped and Wall Street braced for a streak of relevant data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

She said the summer's heatwaves had been "tough", but they were hoping for a cooler, wetter autumn, with the reserve braced for flood events and "saline surges" with seasonal tides.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

I braced for a fight and put my hands flat on the table.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

The UK is braced for its fifth heatwave of the year this week, as persistent dry weather puts further pressure on water supplies and could see more areas declared in drought.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Clare braced his paws on quaking knees, fighting for breath.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

That is what makes Shelby Steele so bracing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Now, amidst severe overcrowding in some areas, unsanitary conditions and limited healthcare access, the WHO is bracing for more and bigger disease outbreaks.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

But the few strong illustrations and even fewer high-quality paintings and sculptures are bracing outliers amid a sea of mostly 19th- and 20th-century melodramatic, sentimental and patriotic illustration.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Local hospitals are bracing for funding cuts, though a carve-out may keep many valley residents from losing coverage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

He gained control of himself by falling against a man and a woman, bracing his fall against their shoulders.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Related Words

• fortify
• gird
• prepare
• ready