brack·et

[brak-it]
noun
1.
a support, as of metal or wood, projecting from a wall or the like to hold or bear the weight of a shelf, part of a cornice, etc.
2.
a shelf or shelves so supported.
3.
Also called square bracket. one of two marks [ or ] used in writing or printing to enclose parenthetical matter, interpolations, etc.
4.
Mathematics.
a.
brackets, parentheses of various forms indicating that the enclosed quantity is to be treated as a unit.
b.
(loosely) vinculum ( def 2 ).
c.
Informal. an expression or formula between a pair of brackets.
5.
a grouping of people based on the amount of their income: the low-income bracket.
6.
a class; grouping; classification: She travels in a different social bracket.
7.
Architecture.
a.
any horizontally projecting support for an overhanging weight, as a corbel, cantilever, or console.
b.
any of a series of fancifully shaped false consoles beneath an ornamental cornice.
8.
(on a staircase) an ornamental piece filling the angle between a riser and its tread.
9.
Shipbuilding.
a.
a flat plate, usually triangular with a flange on one edge, used to unite and reinforce the junction between two flat members or surfaces meeting at an angle.
b.
any member for reinforcing the angle between two members or surfaces.
10.
a projecting fixture for gas or electricity.
11.
Gunnery. range or elevation producing both shorts and overs on a target.
verb (used with object)
12.
to furnish with or support by a bracket or brackets.
13.
to place within brackets; couple with a brace.
14.
to associate, mention, or class together: Gossip columnists often bracket them together, so a wedding may be imminent.
15.
Gunnery. to place (shots) both beyond and short of a target.
16.
Photography. to take (additional shots) at exposure levels above and below the estimated correct exposure.
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Origin:
1570–80; earlier also brag(g)et (in architecture); of obscure origin

Related forms
un·brack·et·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To bracket
Collins
World English Dictionary
bracket (ˈbrækɪt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  an L-shaped or other support fixed to a wall to hold a shelf, etc
2.  one or more wall shelves carried on brackets
3.  architect corbel ancon See also console a support projecting from the side of a wall or other structure
4.  Also called: square bracket either of a pair of characters, [ ], used to enclose a section of writing or printing to separate it from the main text
5.  parenthesis square bracket a general name for brace
6.  a group or category falling within or between certain defined limits: the lower income bracket
7.  the distance between two preliminary shots of artillery fire in range-finding
8.  a skating figure consisting of two arcs meeting at a point, tracing the shape
 
—vb , -kets, -keting, -keted
9.  to fix or support by means of a bracket or brackets
10.  to put (written or printed matter) in brackets, esp as being irrelevant, spurious, or bearing a separate relationship of some kind to the rest of the text
11.  to couple or join (two lines of text, etc) with a brace
12.  (often foll by with) to group or class together: to bracket Marx with the philosophers
13.  to adjust (artillery fire) until the target is hit
 
[C16: from Old French braguette codpiece, diminutive of bragues breeches, from Old Provençal braga, from Latin brāca breeches]

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

bracket
1570s, bragget, probably from M.Fr. braguette "codpiece armor" (16c.), from a fancied resemblance of that article to architectural supports (Sp. cognate bragueta meant both "codpiece" and "bracket"), dim. of brague "knee pants," ultimately from Gaulish *braca "pants," itself perhaps from Germanic (cf.
O.E. broc "garment for the legs and trunk;" see breeches). The sense might reflect the "breeches" sense, on the notion of two limbs or of appliances used in pairs. The typographical bracket is first recorded 1750, so called for its resemblance to double supports in carpentry. Senses affected by L. brachium "arm."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

bracket definition

character
(Or square bracket) A left bracket or right bracket.
Often used loosely for parentheses, square brackets, braces, angle brackets, or any other kind of unequal paired delimiters.
(1996-09-08)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

bracket

in architecture, device of wood, stone, or metal that projects from or overhangs a wall to carry a weight. It may also serve as a ledge to support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of volutes, or scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They are sometimes entirely ornamental. Among the types of bracket are the corbel and the console, but there are many types that have no special name.

Learn more about bracket with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
There's also a hole in the bottom of the u-section bracket through which the
  dock connecter will fit.
And people in your same income bracket should not be priced out of being your
  customer.
The less fortunate slide, against their will, into a lower tax bracket and
  sometimes into jobs they don't want.
It is not the job of archaeologists to bracket off and ignore evidence.
Images for bracket
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