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Brace   /breɪs/   Listen
noun
Brace  n.  
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."
3.
The state of being braced or tight; tension. "The laxness of the tympanum, when it has lost its brace or tension."
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." "He is said to have shot... fifty brace of pheasants." "A brace of brethren, both bishops, both eminent for learning and religion, now appeared in the church." "But you, my brace of lords."
9.
pl. Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders. "I embroidered for you a beautiful pair of braces."
10.
Harness; warlike preparation. (Obs.) "For that it stands not in such warlike brace."
11.
Armor for the arm; vantbrace.
12.
(Mining) The mouth of a shaft. (Cornwall)
Angle brace. See under Angle.


verb
Brace  v. t.  (past & past part. braced; pres. part. bracing)  
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."
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." "Some who spurs had first braced on."
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."
5.
(Naut.) To move around by means of braces; as, to brace the yards.
To brace about (Naut.), to turn (a yard) round for the contrary tack.
To brace a yard (Naut.), to move it horizontally by means of a brace.
To brace in (Naut.), to turn (a yard) by hauling in the weather brace.
To brace one's self, to call up one's energies. "He braced himself for an effort which he was little able to make."
To brace to (Naut.), to turn (a yard) by checking or easing off the lee brace, and hauling in the weather one, to assist in tacking.
To brace up (Naut.), to bring (a yard) nearer the direction of the keel by hauling in the lee brace.
To brace up sharp (Naut.), to turn (a yard) as far forward as the rigging will permit.


Brace  v. i.  To get tone or vigor; to rouse one's energies; with up. (Colloq.)





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Brace" Quotes from Famous Books



... 108 to 111. The first is particularly serviceable in cutting docks and other strong weeds from lawns and pastures. It is provided with a brace to allow it to be thrust into the ground with the foot. It is seldom necessary to dig out perennial weeds to the tips of their deep roots, if the crown is severed a short distance below ...
— Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) • L. H. Bailey
... throat and choked him, something rose in his brain and made him see scarlet. He felt rather than saw young Carr kneeling at the box of ammunition, and holding a shell toward him. He heard the click as the breech shut, felt the rubber tire of the brace give against the weight of his shoulder, down a long shining tube saw the pursuing gun-boat, saw her again and many times disappear behind a flash of flame. A bullet gashed his forehead, a bullet passed deftly through his forearm, but he did not ...
— The Red Cross Girl • Richard Harding Davis
... you. The difference between us is that while I perfectly agree with you I sit back and talk about it; you go ahead and do something. It's rotten of me not to work harder down here. I know my father is sore on it, and every time he writes I mean to take a brace and do better—honest I do, no kidding. But you know how it goes. Somebody wants me on the ball nine, or on the hockey team, or in the next play, and I say yes to every one of them. The first I know I haven't a minute to study and then I ...
— The Story of Sugar • Sara Ware Bassett
... 'What will Nelson think of us?' he exclaimed, mournfully, as the frigate wore round. Just then his clerk was killed by his side, and directly afterwards another shot struck down some marines who were hauling in the main-brace. It seemed as if not a man on board could escape, 'Come, then, my boys,' exclaimed their brave Captain Riou, 'let us all die together!' They were the last words he ever spoke. The next moment a shot cut him in two. There was not a more gallant officer, or one the men loved better, ...
— The Grateful Indian - And other Stories • W.H.G. Kingston
... estimate, the force which she exerted might have been equal to forty pounds, and this exerted first in one way and then in another was enough to upset the equilibrium of any ordinary man, especially when the jerks were so sudden and unexpected that it was impossible for one to brace himself against them. After a scene of rather undignified contortion I was finally compelled to retire in defeat, but without the slightest evidence of any other force than that exerted by a strong, muscular young woman. ...
— The Reminiscences of an Astronomer • Simon Newcomb


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