brace definition | Dictionary.com

brace

[breys]

noun, verb, braced, brac⋅ing.

–noun

1.	something that holds parts together or in place, as a clasp or clamp.

2.	anything that imparts rigidity or steadiness.

3.	Also called bitbrace, bitstock. Machinery. a device for holding and turning a bit for boring or drilling.

4.	Building Trades. a piece of timber, metal, etc., for supporting or positioning another piece or portion of a framework.

5.	Nautical. (on a square-rigged ship) a rope by which a yard is swung about and secured horizontally.

6.	Music. leather loops sliding upon the tightening cords of a drum to change their tension and the drum's pitch.

7.	Often, braces. Dentistry. a round or flat metal wire placed against the surfaces of the teeth for straightening irregularly arranged teeth.

8.	Medicine/Medical. an appliance for supporting a weak joint or joints.

9.	braces, Chiefly British. suspender (def. 1).

10.	a pair; couple: a brace of grouse.

11.

Printing.

a.	one of two characters { or } used to enclose words or lines to be considered together.

b.	bracket (def. 7).

12.	Music. connected staves.

13.	a protective band covering the wrist or lower part of the arm, esp. a bracer.

14.	Military. a position of attention with exaggeratedly stiff posture.

–verb (used with object)

15.	to furnish, fasten, or strengthen with or as if with a brace.

16.	to fix firmly; make steady; secure against pressure or impact: He braces himself when the ship rolls. Brace yourself for some bad news.

17.	to make tight; increase the tension of.

18.	to act as a stimulant to.

19.	Nautical. to swing or turn around (the yards of a ship) by means of the braces.

20.	Military. to order (a subordinate) to assume and maintain a brace.

–verb (used without object)

21.	Military. to assume a brace.

—Verb phrase

22.	brace in, Nautical. to brace (the yards of a square-rigged vessel) more nearly athwartships, as for running free.

—Idiom

23.	brace up, Informal. to summon up one's courage; become resolute: She choked back her tears and braced up.

Origin:
1300–50; (n.) ME < AF, OF: pair of arms < L brā(c)chia pl. (taken as fem. sing.) of brā(c)chium arm (< Gk; see brachium ); (v.) in part ME bracen (< AF bracier, deriv. of brace; cf. embrace ¹ ), in part. deriv. of the n.

Synonyms:
1. vise. 4. stay, prop, strut. 10. See pair. 15. support, fortify, prop. 17. tauten, tense. 18. fortify.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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brace (brās)

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n.

A device that holds or fastens two or more parts together or in place; a clamp.
A device, such as a supporting beam in a building or a connecting wire or rope, that steadies or holds something else erect.
braces Chiefly British Suspenders.
An orthopedic appliance used to support, align, or hold a bodily part in the correct position.
A dental appliance constructed of bands and wires that is fixed to the teeth to correct irregular alignment. Often used in the plural.
An extremely stiff, erect posture.
A cause or source of renewed physical or spiritual vigor.
A protective pad strapped to the bow arm of an archer.
Nautical A rope by which a yard is swung and secured on a square-rigged ship.
A cranklike handle with an adjustable aperture at one end for securing and turning a bit.
Music A leather loop that slides to change the tension on the cord of a drum.
Music
1. A vertical line, usually accompanied by the symbol {, connecting two or more staffs.
2. A set of staffs connected in this way.
A symbol, { or }, enclosing two or more lines of text or listed items to show that they are considered as a unit.
Mathematics Either of a pair of symbols, { }, used to indicate aggregation or to clarify the grouping of quantities when parentheses and square brackets have already been used. Also called bracket.
pl. brace A pair of like things: three brace of partridges.

v. braced, brac·ing, brac·es

v. tr.

To furnish with a brace.
To support or hold steady with or as if with a brace; reinforce.
To prepare or position so as to be ready for impact or danger: Union members braced themselves for a confrontation with management.
To confront with questions or requests.
To increase the tension of.
To invigorate; stimulate: "The freshness of the September morning inspired and braced him" (Thomas Hardy).
Nautical To turn (the yards of a ship) by the braces.

v. intr.
To get ready; make preparations.
Phrasal Verb(s):
brace upTo summon one's strength or endurance.

[Middle English, from Old French, the two arms, from Vulgar Latin *bracia, from Latin brācchia, pl. of brācchium, arm, from Greek brakhīōn, upper arm; see mregh-u- in Indo-European roots. V., partly from Old French bracier, from Old French brace, the two arms.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Brace

Brace\, n. [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.) 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.) 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.) 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.) 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 of greyhounds." --Shak.

He is said to have shot . . . fifty brace of pheasants. --Addison.

A brace of brethren, both bishops, both eminent for learning and religion, now appeared in the church. --Fuller.

But you, my brace of lords. --Shak.

9. pl. Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.

I embroidered for you a beautiful pair of braces. --Thackeray.

10. Harness; warlike preparation. [Obs.]

For that it stands not in such warlike brace. --Shak.

11. Armor for the arm; vantbrace.

12. (Mining) The mouth of a shaft. [Cornwall]

Angle brace. See under Angle.

Brace

Brace\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Braced; p. pr. & vb. n. Bracing.]

1. To furnish with braces; to support; to prop; as, to brace a beam in a building.

2. To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen; as, to brace the nerves.

And welcome war to brace her drums. --Campbell.

3. To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.

The women of China, by bracing and binding them from their infancy, have very little feet. --Locke.

Some who spurs had first braced on. --Sir W. Scott.

4. To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly; as, he braced himself against the crowd.

A sturdy lance in his right hand he braced. --Fairfax.

5. (Naut.) To move around by means of braces; as, to brace the yards.

To brace about (Naut.), to turn (a yard) round for the contrary tack.

To brace a yard (Naut.), to move it horizontally by means of a brace.

To brace in (Naut.), to turn (a yard) by hauling in the weather brace.

To brace one's self, to call up one's energies. "He braced himself for an effort which he was little able to make." --J. D. Forbes.

To brace to (Naut.), to turn (a yard) by checking or easing off the lee brace, and hauling in the weather one, to assist in tacking.

To brace up (Naut.), to bring (a yard) nearer the direction of the keel by hauling in the lee brace.

To brace up sharp (Naut.), to turn (a yard) as far forward as the rigging will permit.

Brace

Brace\, v. i. To get tone or vigor; to rouse one's energies; -- with up. [Colloq.]

Language Translation for : brace

Spanish: refuerzo, abrazadera,

German: die Zahnspange,

Japanese: 締め金

More Translations »

brace (n.)

1313, "armor for the arms," from O.Fr. brace "arms," also "length measured by two arms," from L. bracchia pl. of brachium "an arm," from Gk. brakhion "arm, upper arm," from brakhys "short," in contrast to the longer forearm. Applied to various devices for fastening, tightening, on notion of clasping arms. The verb "to render firm or steady by tensing" is c.1440, with figurative extension to tonics, etc. that "brace" the nerves (cf. bracer "stiff drink," 1740).

Main Entry: ¹brace
Pronunciation: 'brAs
Function: noun
1 : an appliance that gives support to movable parts (as a joint or a fracturedbone), to weak muscles (as in paralysis), or to strained ligaments (as of the lower back)
2 braces pl : an orthodontic appliance usually of metallic wire that isused especially to exert pressure to straighten misaligned teeth and that is not removable by the patient

Main Entry: ²brace
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: braced;brac·ing
: to furnish or support with a brace braced because of polio>

brace (brās)
n.

An orthopedic appliance that supports or holds a movable part of the body in correct position while allowing motion of the part.
Often braces A dental appliance, constructed of bands and wires that is fixed to the teeth to correct irregular alignment.

brace character
left brace or right brace.

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