brake

¹ American  

[breyk] / breɪk /

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.

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verb (used with object)

braked, braking

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, braking

1. to use or run a brake.

2. to stop or slow upon being braked.

3. to run a hoisting machine.

brake ² American  

[breyk] / breɪk /

noun

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

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brake ³ American  

[breyk] / breɪk /

noun

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

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brake ⁴ American  

[breyk] / breɪk /

verb

Archaic.

1. simple past tense of break.

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brake ¹ British  

/ breɪk /

noun

1. 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

2. a machine or tool for crushing or breaking flax or hemp to separate the fibres

3. Also called: brake harrow.  a heavy harrow for breaking up clods

4. short for brake van

5. short for shooting brake

6. Also spelt: break.  an open four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage

7. an obsolete word for rack 1

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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

brake ² British  

/ breɪk /

noun

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

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brake ³ British  

/ breɪk /

noun

1. another name for bracken See also rock brake

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brake ⁴ British  

/ breɪk /

verb

1. archaic a past tense of break

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Other Word Forms

• brakeless adjective

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

It was as if my legs knew that this place was out of bounds for me and had put the brakes on without me even realizing.

From Literature

Factory activity hit the brakes last month, with an early estimate pointing to a sharp retreat in sales.

From The Wall Street Journal

That could put the brakes on growth in global smartphone sales, which added 1.9 percent to reach 1.26 billion devices last year.

From Barron's

Shale companies have defied predictions that they would hit the brakes and pushed the national crude output to a record average of 13.6 million barrels of oil a day last year.

From The Wall Street Journal

By 2021, Gray was burned out from the commute and was looking to hit the brakes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• damper
• restraint