D defs.my
Menu ☰
Entry 18 senses · 3 variants Webster, 1913

Brace

/brās/ · IPA /bɹeɪs/
01 n. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
  1. 1.
    That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
  2. 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. 3.
    The state of being braced or tight; tension.
    “The laxness of the tympanum, when it has lost its brace or tension.” — Holder.
  4. 4.
    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.(Arch. & Engin.)
  5. 5.
    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.(Print.)
  6. 6.
    A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.(Naut.)
  7. 7.
    A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.(Mech.)
  8. 8.
    A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks; now rarely applied to persons, except familiarly or with some contempt.
    “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. 9.
    Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
    “I embroidered for you a beautiful pair of braces.” — Thackeray.
  10. 10.
    Harness; warlike preparation.[Obs.]
    “For that it stands not in such warlike brace.” — Shak.
  11. 11.
    Armor for the arm; vantbrace.
  12. 12.
    The mouth of a shaft.(Mining) [Cornwall]
Phrases & compounds
Angle brace — See under Angle.
02 v. t. To furnish with braces; to support; to prop; as, to brace a beam in a building.
imp. & p. p. Braced; p. pr. & vb. n. Bracing
  1. 1.
    To furnish with braces; to support; to prop; as, to brace a beam in a building.
  2. 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. 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. 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. 5.
    To move around by means of braces; as, to brace the yards.(Naut.)
Phrases & compounds
To brace about — to turn (a yard) round for the contrary tack.
To brace a yard — to move it horizontally by means of a brace.
To brace in — to turn (a yard) by hauling in the weather brace.
To brace one's self — to call up one's energies.
To brace to — 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 — to bring (a yard) nearer the direction of the keel by hauling in the lee brace.
To brace up sharp — to turn (a yard) as far forward as the rigging will permit.
03 v. i. To get tone or vigor; to rouse one's energies; -- with up.
  1. 1.
    To get tone or vigor; to rouse one's energies; -- with up.[Colloq.]