brace Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a support that steadies or strengthens something else
    • he wore a brace on his knee
  2. noun two items of the same kind
    twosome; span; distich; couple; duo; twain; yoke; couplet; pair; duet; dyad; duad.
  3. noun a set of two similar things considered as a unit
    pair.
  4. noun either of two punctuation marks ({ or }) used to enclose textual material
  5. noun a rope on a square-rigged ship that is used to swing a yard about and secure it
  6. noun elastic straps that hold trousers up (usually used in the plural)
    suspender; gallus.
  7. noun an appliance that corrects dental irregularities
    orthodontic braces; braces.
  8. noun a carpenter's tool having a crank handle for turning and a socket to hold a bit for boring
    bitstock.
  9. noun a structural member used to stiffen a framework
    bracing.
  10. verb prepare (oneself) for something unpleasant or difficult
    poise.
  11. verb support or hold steady and make steadfast, with or as if with a brace
    steady; stabilize; stabilise.
    • brace your elbows while working on the potter's wheel
  12. verb support by bracing
  13. verb cause to be alert and energetic
    energize; arouse; energise; perk up; stimulate.
    • Coffee and tea stimulate me
    • This herbal infusion doesn't stimulate

WordNet

Brace noun
Etymology
OF. brace, brasse, the two arms, embrace, fathom, F. brasse fathom, fr. L. bracchia the arms (stretched out), pl. of bracchium arm; cf. Gr. .
Definitions
  1. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
  2. A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension, as a cord on the side of a drum.
    The little bones of the ear drum do in straining and relaxing it as the braces of the war drum do in that. Derham.
  3. The state of being braced or tight; tension.
    The laxness of the tympanum, when it has lost its brace or tension. Holder.
  4. (Arch. & Engin.) 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.
  5. (Print.) A vertical curved line connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be taken together; thus, boll, bowl; or, in music, used to connect staves.
  6. (Naut.) A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
  7. (Mech.) A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
  8. A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks; now rarely applied to persons, except familiarly or with some contempt. "A brace of greyhounds." Shak.
    He is said to have shot . . . fifty brace of pheasants. Addison.
    A brace of brethren, both bishops, both eminent for learning and religion, now appeared in the church. Fuller.
    But you, my brace of lords. Shak.
  9. pl. Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
    I embroidered for you a beautiful pair of braces. Thackeray.
  10. Harness; warlike preparation. Obs.
    For that it stands not in such warlike brace. Shak.
  11. Armor for the arm; vantbrace.
  12. (Mining) The mouth of a shaft. Cornwall
Brace transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Braced present participle & verbal noun Bracing
Definitions
  1. To furnish with braces; to support; to prop; as, to brace a beam in a building.
  2. To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen; as, to brace the nerves.
    And welcome war to brace her drums. Campbell.
  3. To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.
    The women of China, by bracing and binding them from their infancy, have very little feet. Locke.
    Some who spurs had first braced on. Sir W. Scott.
  4. To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly; as, he braced himself against the crowd.
    A sturdy lance in his right hand he braced. Fairfax.
  5. (Naut.) To move around by means of braces; as, to brace the yards. J. D. Forbes.
Brace intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To get tone or vigor; to rouse one's energies; -with up. Colloq.

Webster 1913