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.
00:10
Brackets is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
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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 brackets
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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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

brackets definition


Marks — [ ] — resembling parentheses with square corners. Brackets are often used within quotations to distinguish between the quoter's own words and those of the writer being quoted: “He [the president] made a memorable speech at Gettysburg.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
The phrasing of some references to dates has been changed, in brackets, for
  clarity.
Two metal posts form the brackets, and a giant elastic band is stretched
  between them.
What follows are words you spoke, except where indicated by the use of square
  brackets.
Inside, two opposing steel brackets sat almost floating in a tight square pool
  of sputtering oil.
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