brace

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive, transitive) To prepare for something bad, such as an impact or blow.
2. To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly.
3. To swing round the yards of a square rigged ship, using braces, to present a more efficient sail surface to the direction of the wind.
4. To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police.
5. To confront with questions, demands or requests.
6. To furnish with braces; to support; to prop.
7. To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen.
8. To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.

Noun

1. (obsolete) Armor for the arm; vambrace.
2. (obsolete) A measurement of length, originally representing a person's outstretched arms.
3. A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
4. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
5. A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension.
6. A thong used to regulate the tension of a drum.
7. The state of being braced or tight; tension.
8. Harness; warlike preparation.
9. A curved, pointed line, also known as "curly bracket": { or } connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be considered together, such as in {role, roll}; in music, used to connect staves.
10. A pair, a couple; originally used of dogs, and later of animals generally (e.g., a brace of conies) and then other things, but rarely human persons. (In British use (as plural), this is a particularly common reference to game birds.)
11. A piece of material used to transmit, or change the direction of, weight or pressure; any one of the pieces, in a frame or truss, which divide the structure into triangular parts. It may act as a tie, or as a strut, and serves to prevent distortion of the structure, and transverse strains in its members. A boiler brace is a diagonal stay, connecting the head with the shell.
12. A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
13. (British, Cornwall) The mouth of a shaft.
14. (British, in-plural) Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
15. (plural, singular) A system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth or to reduce overbite.
16. Two goals scored by one player in a game.
17. Two wickets taken with two consecutive deliveries.

Synonyms

pair

couple

👫

support

prop

clamp

🗜️

parenthesis

staple

uphold

bracket

strut

bracing

span

holdfast

rest

reinforce

suspender

energize

energise

set

prop up

arouse

knot

🪢

bitstock

perk up

yoke

stay

tie

firm up

stabilize

twain

2

gallus

stimulate

buttress

duad

two

bearing

stabilise

beam

splice

splint

shore

shore up

prepare for

man

👨

leash

braces

band

boost

grip

hold

Translations

Klammer

🗜️

klamp

nietje

kramp

haakje

parêntese

laña

Stütze

accolade

tirante

Krampe

grapa

grampo

🗜️

paire

abrazadera

Pronounced as (IPA)

/bɹeɪs/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: brace

In summary

From Middle English brace, from Old French brace (“arm”), from Latin bracchia, the nominative and accusative plural of bracchium (“arm”).