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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



... simple conundrum. My mind reverted to my school days. I found myself declining musa. Curious to relate, I had entirely forgotten the genitive of ego.... With infinite trouble I managed to break into a vegetarian restaurant, and made a meal off some precocious haricot beans, a brace of Welsh rabbits, and ten ...
— The War of the Wenuses • C. L. Graves and E. V. Lucas
... sense enough not to appreciate it, anyway," said Jimmy. "It's weakened me so that I'll have to have another piece of chocolate to brace me up," and he suited the action to ...
— The Radio Boys' First Wireless - Or Winning the Ferberton Prize • Allen Chapman
... The cars were filled with terror-stricken people who were fleeing from death, when death was everywhere. They fled from the city only to meet the dreaded apparition in the country. As they journeyed on Leroy grew restless and feverish. He tried to brace himself against the infection which was creeping slowly but insidiously into his life, dulling his brain, fevering his blood, and prostrating his strength. But vain were all his efforts. He had no armor strong enough to repel the invasion of death. They stopped at a small town on the way and obtained ...
— Iola Leroy - Shadows Uplifted • Frances E.W. Harper
... on the top except a suit of very good clothes, carefully brushed and folded. They had never been worn, my mother said. Under that, the miscellany began—a quadrant, a tin canikin, several sticks of tobacco, two brace of very handsome pistols, a piece of bar silver, an old Spanish watch and some other trinkets of little value and mostly of foreign make, a pair of compasses mounted with brass, and five or six curious West Indian shells. I have often wondered since why he should have carried about these shells ...
— Treasure Island • Robert Louis Stevenson
... "Brace up, Dan. Who knows? Kitty may be on the high seas, that is, if she has taken my advice and got a return-ticket. I'll give you a dinner at the Bertolini to-night, and you may have the magnum of any vintage you like. We'll have Tomass' drive us down the Via Caracciolo. ...
— The Lure of the Mask • Harold MacGrath


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