Synonym Game

braces

[breys] Origin

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.
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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, especially a bracer.
14.
Military. a position of attention with exaggeratedly stiff posture.
COLLAPSE
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.
EXPAND
20.
Military. to order (a subordinate) to assume and maintain a brace.
COLLAPSE

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Braces is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
verb (used without object)
21.
Military. to assume a brace.
22.
brace in, Nautical. to brace (the yards of a square-rigged vessel) more nearly athwartships, as for running free.
23.
brace up, Informal. to summon up one's courage; become resolute: She choked back her tears and braced up.

Origin:
1300–50; (noun) Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French: pair of arms < Latin brā(c)chia plural (taken as feminine singular) of brā(c)chium arm (< Greek; see brachium); (v.) in part Middle English bracen (< Anglo-French bracier, derivative of brace; compare embrace1), in participle derivative of the noun

o·ver·brace, verb (used with object), o·ver·braced, o·ver·brac·ing.
re·brace, verb (used with object), re·braced, re·brac·ing.
un·der·brace, noun
un·der·brace, verb (used with object), un·der·braced, un·der·brac·ing.
well-braced, adjective


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

Dictionary.com Unabridged

sus·pend·er

[suh-spen-der]
noun
1.
Usually, suspenders. Also called, especially British, braces. adjustable straps or bands worn over the shoulders with the ends buttoned or clipped to the waistband of a pair of trousers or a skirt to support it.
2.
British. garter.
3.
a hanging cable or chain in a suspension bridge connecting the deck with the suspension cable or chain.
4.
a person or thing that suspends.

Origin:
1515–25; 1800–10, Americanism for def. 1; suspend + -er1

sus·pend·er·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To braces
Collins
World English Dictionary
braces (ˈbreɪsɪz)
 
pl n
(Brit) US and Canadian word: suspenders a pair of straps worn over the shoulders by men for holding up the trousers

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

brace
early 14c., "armor for the arms," from O.Fr. brace, braz "arms," also "length measured by two arms" (12c., Mod.Fr. bras "arm, power;" brasse "fathom, armful, breaststroke"), from L. bracchia pl. of bracchium "an arm, a forearm," from Gk. brakhion "arm" (see brachio-).
EXPAND
Applied to various devices for fastening and tightening, on notion of clasping arms. The verb "to render firm or steady by tensing" is mid-15c., with figurative extension to tonics, etc. that "brace" the nerves (cf. bracer "stiff drink"). Related: Braced; bracing.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
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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