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• bran
  bran

  noun

  the partly ground husk of wheat or other grain, separated from flour meal by sifting.
• Bran
  Bran

  noun

  a king of Britain and the brother of Manawydan and Branwen: his head was buried at London as a magical defense against invasion. He was sometimes regarded as a sea god or Christian saint.

bran

¹ American  

[bran] / bræn /

noun

• brans
  plural

1. the partly ground husk of wheat or other grain, separated from flour meal by sifting.

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verb (used with object)

branned, branning

1. to soak or boil in bran water, as in the tanning of hides.

Bran ² American  

[bran] / bræn /

noun

1. Welsh Legend. a king of Britain and the brother of Manawydan and Branwen: his head was buried at London as a magical defense against invasion. He was sometimes regarded as a sea god or Christian saint.

2. a male given name, form of Brandon.

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bran British  

/ bræn /

noun

1. husks of cereal grain separated from the flour by sifting

2. food prepared from these husks

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• branner
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• brans
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of bran

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French bran, bren, of uncertain origin

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Explanation

The outside layer of a grain like wheat or rice is called bran. If you need some fiber, avoid the chocolate chip muffin and opt for the bran muffin instead. Most of wheat's nutrients are in its bran and germ, which are parts of an unprocessed cereal grain. When wheat is processed into white flour, the bran is removed. That's too bad since there are B vitamins, protein, iron, and important fatty acids in bran (all of which is stripped away when grain is milled or refined). White rice, for example, is rice with the bran and germ removed, while a grain of brown rice still contains both. In the sixteenth century, bran also meant "dandruff flakes." Yum!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bran Bran brans

Heavily processed milling strips away bran, germ and other nutrients, and while federal law requires such flour to be enriched, the end product still lacks key vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Cattle receive specialized, highly-regulated care and expensive feeds of barley, corn, alfalfa and rice bran.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

I wanted something small like a bran muffin and quickly scanned the menu for “I Am Regular” to no avail.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Ferulic acid is a polyphenol found in many plant-based foods, especially whole grains and rice bran.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

Roy, who had a mouthful of raisin bran, burst out laughing.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen

"When making tools for chemists, the user interface matters a lot, and previous tools relied on cumbersome filters and rules," says Andres M Bran, the first author of the Synthegy paper published in Matter.

From Science Daily ● May 5, 2026

And a regional Super Bowl commercial from Kellogg’s Raisin Bran is set to underline the importance of dietary fiber.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026

At 94, "Star Trek" legend William Shatner chews the scenery in a Raisin Bran ad that leans into fiber jokes, introducing himself as a character named "Will Shat."

From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026

The service believes he left that morning from Poiana Brașov heading to Bran, the site of Count Dracula's castle.

From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025

Then Dr. Zamborska said, ‘We thought we’d go out for dinner this evening, Bran.’

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

Procter & Gamble said its earnings were affected by its stepped up investments in marketing, and divestitures of some smaller brans.

From US News ● Aug. 2, 2016

Two half-quartern brans; pound of best fresh; piece of double Glo'ster; and, to wind up all, some of the richest sort you ever lushed!'

From Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

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Related Words

• corn
• grain
• rice
• wheat

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