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. (UK) Any of the characters “(”, “)”, “[”, “]”, “{”, “}”, “⟨”, “⟩”, “<”, “>”, or the like, used in pairs to enclose parenthetic remarks, sections of mathematical expressions, etc.
6. (US) 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

brace

square bracket

clamp

🗜️

support

group

staple

bearer

strap

angle bracket

holder

shelf

base

bracket out

wall bracket

round bracket

pedestal

prop

lug support

category

corbel

band

grade

parentheses

bearing

catalog

caste

catch

categorisation

attach

carrier

carriage

battery

🔋

caret

crutch

🩼

cantilever

battalion

arms

caliber

covey

brooch

company

clutch

cradle

cramp

cluster

denomination

family

👪

bond

Translations

Klammer

🗜️

parenthèse

paréntesis

haakje

parentesi

nietje

παρένθεση

Konsole

υποστήριγμα

parantez

colchete

🪝

crochet

🪝

kramp

klamp

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”).