brassiere

American  

[bruh-zeer] / brəˈzɪər /

Or brassière

noun

1. a woman's undergarment for supporting the breasts.

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brassiere British  

/ ˈbræsɪə, ˈbræz- /

noun

1. Often shortened to: bra.  a woman's undergarment for covering and supporting the breasts

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Etymology

Origin of brassiere

1910–15; < French brassière bodice worn as an undergarment to support the breasts (now obsolete in this sense), Middle French bracieres camisole, Old French: armor for the arms, equivalent to bras arm ( brace ) + -ière, suffix added to body part nouns, the resultant derivative denoting an article for that part < Latin -āria -ary

Example Sentences

Only when DNA technology advanced to the point where a complete genetic profile could be developed from evidence gleaned from the girl’s brassiere could a solid link be made, Detective Leah Wagner said.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2020

“Help transcribe some of the company’s historical records, including advertisements and reports, to learn more about the history of the brassiere industry and female-centered marketing campaigns.”

From Washington Post • May 18, 2020

And yet he is very much alive when I meet him at a crowded ancient brassiere called the Cafe de la Concorde for lunch in the heart of Toulouse.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2018

Try wearing your black brassiere on top of your canary-yellow shantung brunch coat and get back to me.

From Slate • Sep. 9, 2014

What I see first is a picture: the Venus de Milo, in a black-and- white photo, with a mustache and a black brassiere and armpit hair drawn clumsily on her.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood