| 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.
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| 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.
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| 8. | (on a staircase) an ornamental piece filling the angle between a riser and its tread. |
| 9. | Shipbuilding.
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| 10. | a projecting fixture for gas or electricity. |
| 11. | Gunnery. range or elevation producing both shorts and overs on a target. |
| 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. |

brack·et (brāk'ĭt) n.
[Possibly French braguette, codpiece, diminutive of brague, breeches, from Old Provençal braga, from Latin brācae, from Gaulish brāca, leg covering.] |
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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