brace

plural braces

1. A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.

   a brace and bit

2. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
3. A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension.
4. A thong used to regulate the tension 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.

   1713, W[illiam] Derham, Physico-Theology: Or, A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God, from His Works of Creation. […], London: […] W[illiam] Innys, […], →OCLC

5. The state of being braced or tight; tension.

   And I am of opinion, that the moſt frequent cauſe of Deafneſs is to be attributed to the Laxneſs of the Tympanum, vvhen it has loſt its Brace or Tenſion by ſome irregularity in the Figure of thoſe Bones, or defect in that Muſcle: […]

   1669, William Holder, Elements of Speech: An Essay of Inquiry into the Natural Production of Letters: […], London: […] T. N[ewcomb] for J[ohn] Martyn printer to the R[oyal] Society, […], →OCLC, page 113

6. Harness; warlike preparation.

   1 more example

   ’Tis a Pageant / To keepe vs in falſe gaze, when we conſider / Th’importancie of Cyprus to the Turke; / And let our ſelues againe but vnderſtand, / That as it more concerne the Turke then Rhodes, / So may he with more facile queſtion beare it, / For that it ſtands not in ſuch Warrelike brace, / But altogether lackes th’abilities / That Rhodes is dreſs’d in.

   c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 313, column 1

7. mediaA curved, pointed line, also known as "curly bracket": { or } connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be considered together, such as in {role, roll}; in music, used to connect staves.
8. collectiveplural braceA pair, a couple; originally used of dogs, and later of animals generally (e.g., a brace of conies) and then other things, but rarely human persons. (In British use (as plural), this is a particularly common reference to game birds.)

   Coordinate term: leash

   5 more examples

   But you, my brace of Lords, were I ſo minded / I heere could plucke his Highneſſe frowne vpon you / And iuſtifie you Traitors: […]

   1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 17, column 1

   A brace of brethren, both bishops, both eminent for learning and religion, now appeared in the church; […]

   1655, Thomas Fuller, “Section II. The Seventh Century.”, in The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI), subsection 84 (St. Cedde and St. Chad), page 127

   He is ſaid, this ſummer to have ſhot with his own hands fifty brace of pheaſants, and one wild pig; to have ſet thirty coveys of partridges; and to have hunted down forty brace of hares; […]

   1716 May 3 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 36. Sunday, April 23. [1716.]”, in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; […], volume IV, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], published 1721, →OCLC, page 493

   "Are you a prime shot?" said Richard. / Ripton nodded knowingly, and answered, "Pretty good." / "Then we'll have a dozen brace apiece to-day," said Richard.

   1859, George Meredith, “Showing How the Fates Selected the Fourteenth Birthday to Try the Strength of the System”, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, page 79

   There were four of us,—my friend the captain, myself, an old sportsman from Sognedale, called Peter Sandaker, and a smart boy, who had charge of two brace of hounds.

   1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], “A Day with the Capercailzies”, in H. L. Brækstad, transl., Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC, page 68

   Synonyms: duo, see Thesaurus:duo, dyad

9. 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.
10. nauticalA rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
11. CornwallUKbusinessThe mouth of a shaft.
12. UKin pluralStraps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
13. pluralsingularA system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth or to reduce overbite.
14. ball gamesTwo goals scored by one player in a game.

    Coordinate term: hat trick

    2 more examples

    The Manchester United midfielder’s late brace against Cyprus at the weekend was welcome, but will become no more than a footnote of his Scotland career. His brace here to down the mighty Spanish will go down in history.

    28 March 2023, Graeme McGarry, “Scott McTominay earns place in history as Scotland stun Spain”, in The Herald

    To score a 'brace' means that you have scored two goals in a game.

    2020 October 23, “What is a brace in soccer?”, in Goal

15. ball gamesTwo wickets taken with two consecutive deliveries.
16. obsoleteArmor for the arm; vambrace.
17. obsoleteA measurement of length, originally representing a person's outstretched arms.

    Synonyms: fathom

present singular third person braces · participle present bracing · participle past braced · past braced

1. intransitivetransitiveTo prepare for something bad, such as an impact or blow.

   Brace yourself!

   3 more examples

   All hands, brace for impact!

   The boy has no idea about everything that's been going on. You need to brace him for what's about to happen.

   Bradford would have been braced for an early assault from Villa as they tried to cut the deficit - and so it proved as they struggled to control the physical presence and aerial threat of Benteke, who headed straight at Bradford keeper Matt Duke when he should have done better.

   2013 January 22, Phil McNulty, “Aston Villa 2-1 Bradford (3-4)”, in BBC

2. To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly.

   He braced himself against the crowd.

   2 more examples

   She braced her back against the wall.

   A sturdy lance in his right hand he braced.

   1845, Edward Fairfax (tr.), Godfrey of Bulloigne; or, The Recovery of Jerusalem: Done into English Heroical Verse

3. nauticalTo swing round the yards of a square rigged ship, using braces, to present a more efficient sail surface to the direction of the wind.

   to brace the yards

4. To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police.
5. To confront with questions, demands or requests.

   “Constable Fancy’s collecting evidence from his flat while Morse and me brace Valdemar.”

   2018 February 11, Colin Dexter, Russell Lewis, 58:13 from the start, in Endeavour(Cartouche), season 5, episode 2 (TV series), spoken by DCI Fred Thursday (Roger Allam)

   1 more example

   Just about then the young kid who had braced us when we came in uttered a curse and made for the door.

   1980, Stephen King, The Wedding Gig

6. To furnish with braces; to support; to prop.

   to brace a beam in a building

7. To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen.

   to brace the nerves

   1 more example

   And welcome war to brace her drums.

   1825, Thomas Campbell, Hallowed Ground

8. To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.

   some who spurs had first braced on

   1815, Walter Scott, Lord of the Isles

   1 more example

   The women of China[…], by bracing and binding them [their feet] from their infancy, have very little feet.

   1693, [John Locke], “§12”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC

plural Braces

1. A surname from Old French.