brace
/bɹeɪs/ noun, verb, proper noun
- noun A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock. “a brace and bit”
- noun That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
- noun A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension.
- noun A thong used to regulate the tension of a drum.
- noun The state of being braced or tight; tension.
- noun Harness; warlike preparation.
- noun (typography) A curved, pointed line, also known as "curly bracket": { or } connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be considered together, such as in {role, roll}; in music, used to connect staves.
- noun (collective, plural brace) A pair, a couple; originally used of dogs, and later of animals generally (e.g., a brace of conies) and then other things, but rarely human persons. (In British use (as plural), this is a particularly common reference to game birds.)
- verb (transitive, intransitive) To prepare for something bad, such as an impact or blow. “All hands, brace for impact!”
- verb To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly. “He braced himself against the crowd.”
- verb (nautical) To swing round the yards of a square rigged ship, using braces, to present a more efficient sail surface to the direction of the wind. “to brace the yards”
- verb To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police.
- verb To confront with questions, demands or requests.
- verb To furnish with braces; to support; to prop. “to brace a beam in a building”
- verb To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen. “to brace the nerves”
- verb To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.
- proper noun A surname from Old French.
Synonyms
duo see Thesaurus:duo dyad fathom twosome couple pair twain span yoke couplet distich duet duad suspender gallus braces orthodontic braces bitstock bracing poise steady stabilize stabilise stimulate arouse energize energise perk up
Etymology
From Middle English brace, from Old French brace (“arm”), from Latin bracchia, the nominative and accusative plural of bracchium (“arm”).
English surname of Norman origin, from Old French brace (“arm”) and thus related to the noun brace.
Webster’s 1913
- noun That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
- noun A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension, as a cord on the side of a drum.
- verb To furnish with braces; to support; to prop; as, to brace a beam in a building.
- verb To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen; as, to brace the nerves.
Etymology [OF. brace, brasse, the two arms, embrace, fathom, F. brasse fathom, fr. L. bracchia the arms (stretched out), pl. of bracchium arm; cf. Gr. 1. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop. 2. A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension, as a cord on the side of a drum. The little bones of the ear drum do in straining and relaxing it as the braces of the war drum do in that. Derham. 3. The state of being braced or tight; tension. The laxness of the tympanum, when it has lost its brace or tension. Holder. 4. (Arch. & Engin.) Defn: A piece of material used to transmit, or change the direction of, weight or pressure; any one of the pieces, in a frame or truss, which divide the structure into triangular parts. It may act as a tie, or as a strut, and serves to prevent distortion of the structure, and transverse strains in its members. A boiler brace is a diagonal stay, connecting the head with the shell. 5. (Print.) Defn: A vertical curved line connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be taken together; thus, boll, bowl; or, in music, used to connect staves. 6. (Naut.) Defn: A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon. 7. (Mech.) Defn: A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock. 8. A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks; now rarely applied to persons, except familiarly or with some contempt. "A brace]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “brace”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details