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View synonyms for brake

brake

1

[ breyk ]

noun

  1. a device for slowing or stopping a vehicle or other moving mechanism by the absorption or transfer of the energy of momentum, usually by means of friction.
  2. brakes, the drums, shoes, tubes, levers, etc., making up such a device on a vehicle.
  3. anything that has a slowing or stopping effect.
  4. Also called brakeman. a member of a bobsled team who operates the brake.
  5. Also called breaker. Textiles. a tool or machine for breaking up flax or hemp, to separate the fiber.
  6. Also called press brake. a machine for bending sheet metal to a desired shape.
  7. Obsolete. an old instrument of torture.


verb (used with object)

, braked, brak·ing.
  1. to slow or stop by means of or as if by means of a brake.

    Synonyms: bridle, curb, restrain, stay, arrest, halt

  2. to furnish with brakes.
  3. to process (flax or hemp) by crushing it in a brake.

verb (used without object)

, braked, brak·ing.
  1. to use or run a brake.
  2. to stop or slow upon being braked.
  3. to run a hoisting machine.

brake

2

[ breyk ]

noun

  1. a place overgrown with bushes, brambles, or cane.

brake

3

[ breyk ]

noun

  1. any of several large or coarse ferns, especially the bracken, Pteridium aquilinum.

brake

4

[ breyk ]

verb

, Archaic.
  1. simple past tense of break.

brake

1

/ breɪk /

verb

  1. archaic.
    a past tense of break
“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


brake

2

/ breɪk /

noun

    1. often plural a device for slowing or stopping a vehicle, wheel, shaft, etc, or for keeping it stationary, esp by means of friction See also drum brake disc brake hydraulic brake air brake handbrake
    2. ( as modifier )

      the brake pedal

  1. a machine or tool for crushing or breaking flax or hemp to separate the fibres
  2. Also calledbrake harrow a heavy harrow for breaking up clods
  3. short for brake van
  4. short for shooting brake
  5. an open four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage Also speltbreak
  6. an obsolete word for rack 1
“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

verb

  1. to slow down or cause to slow down, by or as if by using a brake
  2. tr to crush or break up using a brake
“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

brake

3

/ breɪk /

noun

  1. an area of dense undergrowth, shrubs, brushwood, etc; thicket
“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

brake

4

/ breɪk /

noun

  1. another name for bracken See also rock brake
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈbrakeless, adjective
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Other Words From

  • brake·less adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of brake1

First recorded in 1400–50; of uncertain origin; possibly a special use of obsolete brake “a bridle, curb,” from Middle Dutch braeke “(flax) brake” (a tool that separates flax fibers from their woody stems); akin to break

Origin of brake2

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English fernebrake “fern thicket, fernbrake,” Old English (fearn)bracu “bed of fern, (fern)brake,” akin to Middle Low German brake “branch, twig, tree stump”

Origin of brake3

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English brake, probably by back formation from braken “thicket of fern,” taken as plural; bracken
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Word History and Origins

Origin of brake1

C18: from Middle Dutch braeke ; related to breken to break

Origin of brake2

Old English bracu ; related to Middle Low German brake , Old French bracon branch
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Example Sentences

The large number of people already infected with the coronavirus in the US has begun to act as a brake on the spread of the disease in hard-hit states.

The balance between these processes works as a thermostat, because when the climate warms, chemical reactions become more efficient at removing carbon dioxide, putting a brake on the warming.

Though preliminary and unpublished, the findings suggest that Brd4 inhibitors “can get rid of these immune suppressor cells that are an additional brake on the immune system, and allow immune stimulating drugs to work better,” says Carson.

Drugs that release brakes on the immune system have helped thousands of people with cancers that were previously untreatable.

That wasn’t the only cluster that put the brakes on South Korea’s reopening plans.

Johnson Welded Products    Ohio-based manufacturer of reservoirs for air brake systems.

Johnson Welded Products Ohio-based manufacturer of reservoirs for air brake systems.

Counterfeit airbags and brake pads have become more of a problem, as have electrical devices that catch on fire.

Even the most sketch-ball, scheming car mechanic knows how much those brake pads cost.

When it comes to stops to enforce traffic laws—like speeding, or driving with a broken brake light—being black has no influence.

They tobogganed down hills without a brake at the imminent peril of their lives.

If he is injured while running a car from a defective brake of which he had knowledge, he cannot recover.

Then he went back, eased off the emergency brake, grabbed a good handhold and strained forward.

Almost unconsciously he lifted his foot from the accelerator and pressed down the brake.

The brake had set out before the carriage, so that Meta had to come in and wait for her governess.

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