Braille

[ breyl ]

/ breɪl /

Save This Word!

noun

Louis

[loo-is, loo-ee; French lwee], /ˈlu ɪs, ˈlu i; French lwi/, 1809–52, French teacher of the blind.

a system of writing or printing, devised by L. Braille for use by the blind, in which combinations of tangible dots or points are used to represent letters, characters, etc., that are read by touch.

verb (used with object), Brailled, Braill·ing.

to write or transliterate in Braille characters.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Also braille (for defs. 2, 3) .

Origin of Braille

First recorded in 1850–55

Words nearby Braille

braided channel, braided stream, braiding, brail, Brăila, Braille, Braillewriter, Braillist, Brailowsky, brain, brainbox

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use Braille in a sentence

On the bench, Tatel uses a small Braille computer, listening through one earpiece as he clicks through his meticulous notes.
Judge David Tatel’s lack of eyesight never defined him, but his blindness is woven into the culture of the influential appeals court in D.C.|Ann Marimow|July 8, 2021|Washington Post
A student in Hong Kong made headlines in 2013 by teaching herself to read Braille with her lips.
Father-son bond inspires sweets that model the shapes of molecules|Carmen Drahl|June 30, 2021|Science News For Students
A student in Hong Kong made headlines in 2013 for teaching herself to read Braille with her lips.
A sweet father-son bond inspires tasty new molecule models|Carmen Drahl|May 28, 2021|Science News
A simple solution, she says, would be to add small signs that explain in readable Braille that the Braille on the memorial is an artistic rendering that is not to scale.
A disabled president’s memorial still isn’t fully accessible to disabled visitors, a new report finds|Theresa Vargas|May 19, 2021|Washington Post

It shows her struggling to navigate the website for the memorial, and then once there, trying to piece together the Braille like a puzzle.
A disabled president’s memorial still isn’t fully accessible to disabled visitors, a new report finds|Theresa Vargas|May 19, 2021|Washington Post
If our interview were in person, she would ask me to type out questions on a braille display.
TEDx Talks Have a Disability Problem—but This Incredible Young Woman Is Working to Change That|Nina Strochlic|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Kandynce went to Braille school so she could keep up her passion for reading, history in particular.
Killed by Donald Sterling’s Racism|Michael Daly|May 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
According to the American Foundation for the Blind, Dufau eventually relented and the Braille code spread throughout the world.
History's Greatest Book Burners|Judith Miller|September 7, 2010|DAILY BEAST
This refers again to the printing of some of his books in Braille type for the blind.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson
He learned me the deaf alphabet, and how to read in the Braille book, and it's not so bad now.
Workhouse Characters|Margaret Wynne Nevinson
The fingers of the blind spelled out its optimism and its selections at Hawthorne in Braille.
The Syndic|C.M. Kornbluth
He has brought his Braille printing to a fine state of perfection.
A Blind Esperantist's Trip to Finland and Sweden, to Attend the Fourteenth International Esperanto Congress|W. Percy Merrick
They take in and read Braille magazines in various languages.
A Blind Esperantist's Trip to Finland and Sweden, to Attend the Fourteenth International Esperanto Congress|W. Percy Merrick

British Dictionary definitions for Braille (1 of 2)

Braille¹

/ (breɪl) /

noun

a system of writing for the blind consisting of raised dots that can be interpreted by touch, each dot or group of dots representing a letter, numeral, or punctuation mark

any writing produced by this methodCompare Moon

verb

(tr) to print or write using this method

British Dictionary definitions for Braille (2 of 2)

Braille²

/ (French braj) /

noun

Louis (lwi). 1809–52, French inventor, musician, and teacher of the blind, who himself was blind from the age of three and who devised the Braille system of raised writing

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

Cultural definitions for Braille

Braille

A system of writing and printing for the blind in which arrangements of raised dots representing letters and numbers can be identified by touch.