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brace up

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brace

  [breys] noun, verb, braced, brac⋅ing.
Use brace up in a Sentence
–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.  

  1. A device that holds or fastens two or more parts together or in place; a clamp.

  2. A device, such as a supporting beam in a building or a connecting wire or rope, that steadies or holds something else erect.

  3. braces Chiefly British Suspenders.

  4. An orthopedic appliance used to support, align, or hold a bodily part in the correct position.

  5. A dental appliance constructed of bands and wires that is fixed to the teeth to correct irregular alignment. Often used in the plural.

  6. An extremely stiff, erect posture.

  7. A cause or source of renewed physical or spiritual vigor.

  8. A protective pad strapped to the bow arm of an archer.

  9. Nautical A rope by which a yard is swung and secured on a square-rigged ship.

  10. A cranklike handle with an adjustable aperture at one end for securing and turning a bit.

  11. Music A leather loop that slides to change the tension on the cord of a drum.

  12. Music

    1. A vertical line, usually accompanied by the symbol {, connecting two or more staffs.

    2. A set of staffs connected in this way.

  13. A symbol, { or }, enclosing two or more lines of text or listed items to show that they are considered as a unit.

  14. 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.

  15. pl. brace A pair of like things: three brace of partridges.

v.   braced, brac·ing, brac·es

v.   tr.

  1. To furnish with a brace.

  2. To support or hold steady with or as if with a brace; reinforce.

  3. To prepare or position so as to be ready for impact or danger: Union members braced themselves for a confrontation with management.

  4. To confront with questions or requests.

  5. To increase the tension of.

  6. To invigorate; stimulate: "The freshness of the September morning inspired and braced him" (Thomas Hardy).

  7. 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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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2brace
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: braced;brac·ing
: to furnish or support with a brace braced because of polio>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

brace (brās)
n.

  1. An orthopedic appliance that supports or holds a movable part of the body in correct position while allowing motion of the part.

  2. Often braces A dental appliance, constructed of bands and wires that is fixed to the teeth to correct irregular alignment.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Idioms & Phrases

brace up

Also, brace oneself. Summon up one's courage or resolve, as in Brace up, we don't have much farther to go, or Squaring his shoulders, he braced himself for the next wave. This idiom uses brace in the sense of "to bolster" or "to strengthen." The first term dates from the early 1700s, the variant from about 1500.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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