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brake

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A restraint used to slow or stop a vehicle.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

brayk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbɹeɪk

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

  1. A restraint used to slow or stop a vehicle

  2. The act of braking, of using a brake to slow down a machine or vehicle

  3. engineering

    An apparatus for testing the power of a steam engine or other motor by weighing the amount of friction that the motor will overcome; a friction brake.

  4. figuratively

    Something used to retard or stop some action, process etc.

  5. A device used to confine or prevent the motion of an animal.

  6. A baker's kneading trough.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To be stopped or slowed (as if) by braking.

  2. transitive

    To bruise and crush; to knead.

  3. transitive

    To pulverise with a harrow.

  4. intransitive

    To operate a brake or brakes.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A restraint used to slow or stop a vehicle

Used this way, brake 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 brake

  • “We had to brake suddenly when a chicken crossed the road.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Braking / restraint

parking brake

Apparatus

brake horsepower

Frame

disc brake

Other combinations

air brakebrake pedalbrake fluidbrake systememergency brake

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • brakesnounPlural form

    A braking device consisting of a combination of interacting parts that work to slow a motor vehicle.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • brake disknounCompound term

    A disk or plate that is fixed to the wheel.

  • brake drumnounCompound term

    A hollow cast iron cylinder attached to the wheel that forms part of the brakes.

  • brake failurenounCompound term

    Brakes fail to stop a vehicle.

  • brake lightnounCompound term

    A red light on the rear of a motor vehicle that signals when the brakes are applied to slow or stop.

  • brake liningnounCompound term

    The lining on the brake shoes that comes in contact with the brake drum.

  • brake padnounCompound term

    One of the pads that apply friction to both sides of the brake disk.

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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.