brace

[breys]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brace ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

anything that imparts rigidity or steadiness.

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

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

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

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

Often braces. Dentistry. a round or flat metal wire placed against the surfaces of the teeth for straightening irregularly arranged teeth.

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

braces, Chiefly British. suspender(def 1).

a pair; couple: a brace of grouse.

Printing.

one of two characters { or } used to enclose words or lines to be considered together.
bracket(def 7).

Music. connected staves.

a protective band covering the wrist or lower part of the arm, especially a bracer.

Military. a position of attention with exaggeratedly stiff posture.

verb (used with object), braced, brac·ing.

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

to fix firmly; make steady; secure against pressure or impact: He braces himself when the ship rolls. Brace yourself for some bad news.

to make tight; increase the tension of.

to act as a stimulant to.

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

Military. to order (a subordinate) to assume and maintain a brace.

verb (used without object), braced, brac·ing.

Military. to assume a brace.

Verb Phrases

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

Idioms

brace up, Informal. to summon up one's courage; become resolute: She choked back her tears and braced up.

Origin of brace

1300–50; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French: pair of arms < Latin brā(c)chia plural (taken as feminine singular) of brā(c)chium arm (< Greek; see brachium); (v.) in part Middle English bracen (< Anglo-French bracier, derivative of brace; cf. embrace¹), in participle derivative of the noun

Related formso·ver·brace, verb (used with object), o·ver·braced, o·ver·brac·ing.re·brace, verb (used with object), re·braced, re·brac·ing.un·der·brace, nounun·der·brace, verb (used with object), un·der·braced, un·der·brac·ing.well-braced, adjective

Synonyms for brace

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR brace ON THESAURUS.COM

1. vise. 4. stay, prop, strut. 10. See pair. 15. support, fortify, prop. 17. tauten, tense. 18. fortify.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for brace

Contemporary Examples of brace

In all likelihood, Democrats should brace for an ugly election night.
Biggest Midterm Issue? The Obamaphant in the Living Room
Dean Obeidallah
September 7, 2014
So, I conveyed this to Tom and we invited Tom over to our house for dinner and said, “Brace yourself.”
From ‘Lost’ to The Rapture: Creators Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta on HBO’s ‘The Leftovers’
Marlow Stern
June 24, 2014
Kimye Heads Back to Vogue: Brace yourselves for the aftershock.
Anna Wintour Hosts DNC Fundraiser; Kimye Heads Back to 'Vogue'
The Fashion Beast Team
May 20, 2014
She was released from the hospital with nothing more than a brace after two months.
Hallucinating Away a Heroin Addiction
Abby Haglage
May 4, 2014
They have been told to brace themselves as the next few hours are critical.
Camilla's Brother 'Fighting For Life' After Fall In New York City
Tom Sykes
April 23, 2014

Historical Examples of brace

Brace your belt, Watkins, man, and swing your shoulders as a free companion should.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
One felt tempted to brace oneself for the rush that was to come.
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower
Bill let go the brace, turned as white as a sheet, and exclaimed, "I'm gone!"
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
Bring some of that cake you baked to-day, honey—and do brace up!
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
I'll show you whether there's a second brace o' keys or not.
The Channings
Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for brace

brace

noun

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 turnedIn full: hand brace See also brace and bit

something that steadies, binds, or holds up another thing

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

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

a pair; two, esp of game birdsa brace of partridges

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

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

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

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

another word for bracer 2

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

See braces

verb (mainly tr)

to provide, strengthen, or fit with a brace

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

(also intr) to stimulate; freshen; invigoratesea air is bracing

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

Word Origin for brace

C14: from Old French: the two arms, from Latin bracchia arms

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for brace

early 14c., "piece of armor for the arms," also "thong, strap for fastening," from Old French brace, braz "arms," also "length measured by two arms" (12c., Modern French bras "arm, power;" brasse "fathom, armful, breaststroke"), from Latin bracchia, plural of bracchium "an arm, a forearm," from Greek brakhion "an arm" (see brachio-). Applied to various devices for fastening and tightening on notion of clasping arms. Of dogs, "a couple, a pair" from c.1400.

mid-14c., "to seize, grasp," also "wrap, enshroud; tie up, fetter," from Old French bracier "to embrace," from brace (see brace (n.)). Meaning "to render firm or steady by tensing" is mid-15c., earlier in figurative sense "strengthen or comfort" (someone), early 15c., with later extension to tonics, etc. that "brace" the nerves (cf. bracer "stiff drink"). Related: Braced; bracing.

Medicine definitions for brace

brace

[brās]

n.

An orthopedic appliance that supports or holds a movable part of the body in correct position while allowing motion of the part.

Often braces A dental appliance, constructed of bands and wires that is fixed to the teeth to correct irregular alignment.

brace

noun

verb (used with object), braced, brac·ing.

verb (used without object), braced, brac·ing.

Verb Phrases

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Idioms

Origin of brace

Synonyms for brace

Examples from the Web for brace

Contemporary Examples of brace

Historical Examples of brace

brace

noun

verb (mainly tr)

Word Origin for brace

brace

n.