brace

noun · verb

Simple meaning

That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

brays

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbɹeɪs

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension.
The state of being braced or tight; tension.
A thong used to regulate the tension of a drum.
plural brace
A 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.)

verb

Prepare (oneself) for something unpleasant or difficult
transitiveintransitive
To prepare for something bad, such as an impact or blow.
To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly.
To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police.
To confront with questions, demands or requests.
To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: C1 · Advanced
Frequency: Moderately Common
Typical Use: Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.

Used this way, brace is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use brace

“He wore a brace on his knee.”noun
“Brace your elbows while working on the potter's wheel.”verb

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Pair

leg brace

Material

neck brace

Other combinations

knee braceclosing bracetwo bracemain brace

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

bracesnounPlural form
An appliance that corrects dental irregularities.
bracingnounInflected form
A structural member used to stiffen a framework.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

brace and bitnounCompound term
A drill consisting of a bit and a brace to hold and turn it.
brace oneself forverbCompound term
Prepare mentally or emotionally for something unpleasant.
brace upverbCompound term
Make secure underneath.
brace wrenchnounCompound term
A wrench shaped like a brace (has a handle shaped like a crank) and a socket head.
knee bracenounCompound term
A brace worn to strengthen the knee.
neck bracenounCompound term
A brace worn to steady the neck.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.