bracket

Meaning

Noun

1. A fixture attached to a wall to hold up a shelf.
2. Any intermediate object that connects a smaller part to a larger part, the smaller part typically projecting sideways from the larger part.
3. A short crooked timber, resembling a knee, used as a support.
4. The cheek or side of an ordnance carriage, supporting the trunnions.
5. Any of the characters “(”, “)”, “[”, “]”, “{”, “}”, “⟨”, “⟩”, “<”, “>”, or the like, used in pairs to enclose parenthetic remarks, sections of mathematical expressions, etc.
6. Any of the characters “(”, “)”, “[”, “]”, “{”, “}”, “⟨”, “⟩”, “<”, “>”, or the like, used in pairs to enclose parenthetic remarks, sections of mathematical expressions, etc.
7. A diagram of games in a tournament.
8. A prediction of the outcome of games in a tournament, used for betting purposes.
9. One of several ranges of numbers.
10. A pair of values that represent the smallest and largest elements of a range.
11. Typically of stationary weapons, the zone enclosed by one long and one short shot impact expected to be hit very accurately.
12. The small curved or angular corner formed by a serif and a stroke in a letter.
13. (obsolete) a mark cut into a stone by land surveyors to secure a bench.

Verb

1. To support by means of mechanical brackets.
2. To enclose in typographical brackets.
3. To bound on both sides, to surround, as enclosing with brackets.
4. To place in the same category.
5. To mark distinctly for special treatment.
6. To set aside, discount, ignore.
7. To gauge the range of a target by firing equally short and long of it and ranging the weapon between the two to achieve a very accurate hit.
8. To take multiple images of the same subject, using a range of exposure settings, in order to help ensure that a satisfactory image is obtained.
9. In the philosophical system of Edmund Husserl and his followers, to set aside metaphysical theories and existential questions concerning what is real in order to focus philosophical attention simply on the actual content of experience.

Synonyms

parenthesis

console

square bracket

brace

clamp

🗜️

support

staple

group

bearer

holder

angle bracket

strap

category

band

corbel

round bracket

prop

parentheses

wall bracket

shelf

grade

pedestal

bracket out

lug support

base

categorisation

categorize

chair

🪑

clasp

class

classify

classroom

cluster

clutch

company

covey

cradle

cramp

crutch

🩼

denomination

family

👪

fasten

fix

fixate

floodgate

footstep

form

frame

frame up

frap

gathering

gudgeon

hang on

hitch

holdfast

hold fast

indent

indenture

infix

isolator

join

lock

🔒

lockage

lug

lump together

moor

mortgage

mount

nexus

order

ordinate

outfit

parenthesize

peg

phalanx

pigeonhole

pin

place

post

rating

reeve

relegate

rig

section

secure

set

shore

sign on

squad

stake

stamp

stand

steadier

stereotype

stick

stick on

stratify

strut

supporter

suspensory

sustainment

tack

toggle

trip

tripper

year

social rank

crossarm

obstructor

discussion section

supporting frame

support stand

prop stay

cross arm

support bracket

supporting block

wrist plate

support frame

attachment clip

fixed mount

carrier frame

bracket arm

toggle plate

supporting seat

support abutment

bay bear

bear frame

pump base

pump frame

casing mount

abut

paren

affix

arm

armrest

arms

attach

bank

🏦

barrage

battalion

battery

🔋

bearing

belay

block

blockade

body

bond

brooch

caliber

cantilever

caret

carriage

carrier

caste

catalog

catch

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbɹækɪt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: *braget

In summary

From earlier bragget, *bracket, from Middle English *braget, *braket (attested in braket nail), from Old French braguette (“the opening in the fore part of a pair of breeches, one's fly”), a diminutive of Old French brague (“knickers, britches”), from Old Occitan braga, from Latin brāca (“pants”), from Transalpine Gaulish *brāca, from Proto-Germanic *brāks, an early form of Proto-Germanic *brōks (“leggings, breeches, trousers”).