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bracket - 10 dictionary results

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.

Origin:
1570–80; earlier also brag(g)et (in architecture); of obscure orig.
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.]
brack·et   (brāk'ĭt)   
n.  
    1. A simple rigid structure in the shape of an L, one arm of which is fixed to a vertical surface, the other projecting horizontally to support a shelf or other weight.
    2. A small shelf or shelves supported by such structures.
    3. A square bracket.
    4. An angle bracket.
    5. Mathematics See brace.
    6. The distance between two impacting shells, the first aimed beyond a target and the second aimed short of it, used to determine the range for artillery fire.
    7. The shells fired in such a manner.
  1. Architecture A decorative or weight-bearing structural unit, two sides of which form a right angle with one arm flush against a wall and the other flush beneath a projecting surface, such as eaves or a bay window.
  2. A wall-anchored fixture for gas or electricity.
    1. A square bracket.
    2. An angle bracket.
    3. Mathematics See brace.
    4. The distance between two impacting shells, the first aimed beyond a target and the second aimed short of it, used to determine the range for artillery fire.
    5. The shells fired in such a manner.
  3. Chiefly British One of a pair of parentheses.
  4. A classification or grouping, especially within a sequence of numbers or grades, as a category of incomes sharing the same tax rate.
    1. The distance between two impacting shells, the first aimed beyond a target and the second aimed short of it, used to determine the range for artillery fire.
    2. The shells fired in such a manner.
tr.v.   brack·et·ed, brack·et·ing, brack·ets
  1. To furnish or support with a bracket or brackets.
  2. To place within or as if within brackets.
  3. To classify or group together.
  4. To include or exclude by establishing specific boundaries.
  5. To fire beyond and short of (a target) in order to determine artillery range.

[Possibly French braguette, codpiece, diminutive of brague, breeches, from Old Provençal braga, from Latin brācae, from Gaulish brāca, leg covering.]

Bracket

Brack"et\, n. [Cf.OF. braguette codpiece, F. brayette, Sp. bragueta, also a projecting mold in architecture; dim. fr.L. bracae breeches; cf. also, OF. bracon beam, prop, support; of unknown origin. Cf. Breeches.]

1. (Arch.) An architectural member, plain or ornamental, projecting from a wall or pier, to support weight falling outside of the same; also, a decorative feature seeming to discharge such an office.

Note: This is the more general word. See Brace, Cantalever, Console, Corbel, Strut.

2. (Engin. & Mech.) A piece or combination of pieces, usually triangular in general shape, projecting from, or fastened to, a wall, or other surface, to support heavy bodies or to strengthen angles.

3. (Naut.) A shot, crooked timber, resembling a knee, used as a support.

4. (Mil.) The cheek or side of an ordnance carriage.

5. (Print.) One of two characters [], used to inclose a reference, explanation, or note, or a part to be excluded from a sentence, to indicate an interpolation, to rectify a mistake, or to supply an omission, and for certain other purposes; -- called also crotchet.

6. A gas fixture or lamp holder projecting from the face of a wall, column, or the like.

Bracket light, a gas fixture or a lamp attached to a wall, column, etc.

Bracket

Brack"et\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bracketed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bracketing] To place within brackets; to connect by brackets; to furnish with brackets.

Bracket

Brack"et\, n. (Gunnery) A figure determined by firing a projectile beyond a target and another short of it, as a basis for ascertaining the proper elevation of the piece; -- only used in the phrase, to establish a bracket. After the bracket is established shots are fired with intermediate elevations until the exact range is obtained. In the United States navy it is called fork.

Bracket

Brack"et\, v. t. (Gunnery) To shoot so as to establish a bracket for (an object).
Language Translation for : bracket
Spanish: paréntesis, corchete,
German: die Klammer,
Japanese: 括弧

bracket 
1580, bragget, probably from M.Fr. braguette "codpiece armor," 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 from Gmc. (cf. O.E. broc "garment for the legs and trunk"). The connecting notion may be 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."

bracket 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)

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.

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