| 释义 |
brace
I. \ˈbrās\ noun
(plural braces also brace ; see sense 2)
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, two arms, from Latin bracchia, brachia, plural of bracchium, brachium arm, modification of Greek brachiōn, from brachys short — more at brief
1. obsolete
a. : armor especially for the arm
b. : an arm of water : inlet
2. plural brace or braces : two of a kind
< a brace of hounds >
< several brace of quail >
: a pair especially of things usually kept together
< a brace of dueling pistols >
3. [Middle English, probably influenced in meaning by Middle English bracen to embrace, clasp] archaic : a clasp, a buckle, or a similar binding or encompassing device
4. : a crank-shaped instrument with handles and a chuck for holding and turning auger bits
5. : something that transmits, directs, resists, or supports weight or pressure: as
a. : a piece of material that divides a frame or truss into triangular parts and serves as a tie or strut to bear transverse strains and prevent distortion
b. : one of the slides on the cords of a drum used to tighten the drumhead
c. [perhaps influenced in meaning by French bras, literally, arm, from Latin brachium] : a rope rove through a block at the end of a yard of a square-rigged ship and used to swing and trim the yard horizontally — see ship illustration
d. : one of the leather straps used to suspend the body of a horse-drawn carriage from the springs
e. braces plural : suspenders
f. : an appliance that gives support to movable parts (as a joint or a fractured bone), to weak muscles (as in paralysis), or to strained ligaments (as of the lower back)
g. : an endpiece by which the outer end of the mainspring of a timepiece is attached to the barrel
h. : something (as a chock) used to secure goods and containers during shipment
i. : a device (as a bar or an angle bracket) used to produce stiffness or rigidity : reinforcement
6.
a. : a mark { or } or ⏟ used to connect words or items to be considered together, equal, or in pairs or to enclose items of which only one is to be chosen
b. : this mark connecting two or more musical staffs and indicating that the parts on these staffs are to be performed simultaneously; also : the group of staffs so connected
< the upper brace >
c. : one of the pair of such marks used as signs of aggregation in mathematics
d. : bracket 4a
7. : an exaggerated position of attention or of rigidly erect bearing (as while drilling or on parade)
< on review, his uniform and brace were technically correct — Time >
8. : something that arouses energy, increases power of exertion, or strengthens or helps in recovering morale
II. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English bracen, from Middle French bracier to embrace, from brace
transitive verb
1. archaic : to fasten tightly : bind, tie
2.
a. obsolete : embrace
b. archaic : encircle, surround
3.
a. : to prepare for use by making taut
< brace a drum >
especially : to place the string of (a bow) in the nocks
b. : to prepare especially for a struggle, enterprise, shock : steel
< brace his will >
< no other country was so … braced for empire and for glory — Mary S. Douglas >
< the class braced itself for the examination >
— sometimes used with up
< hearing the words “bad news”, the family braced itself up >
c. : invigorate, freshen, enliven
< wind bracing the air >
— often used with up
< I took the shower and it braced me up a bit — Raymond Chandler >
4. [brace (I) (rope at the end of a yard)] : to turn (a sail yard) by means of a brace
5. [brace (I) ]
a. : to prop up or support with braces
< brace a sagging floor >
< a well-braced trestle >
< the 29-year-old … woman, heavily braced because of polio — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union >
b. : strengthen, reinforce
< the sides were braced by tar paper, chicken wire, and timber — S.W.Matthews >
< nerves … braced by long familiarity with danger — T.B.Macaulay >
6.
a. : to make rigid : stiffen
< Constance was braced into a moveless anguish — Arnold Bennett >
b. : to put or plant firmly
< he … braced his hand on the stone … and … sprang lightly up — Kay Boyle >
7.
a. : to waylay especially with demands or questions : confront
< when braced, Willie had naturally denied his identity — Time >
< he braced the owners for a raise — N.M.Clark >
b. : to harry with repeated and abusive questions or criticism : dress down : badger, grill, hound
< the police braced him on the charge >
intransitive verb
1. : to take heart : buck up — used with up
< if you don't brace up and do something — Upton Sinclair >
2. : to get ready : prepare quickly (as for an attack)
3. : to assume a brace (sense 7)
< today, the plebe need never brace in public and physical hazing is forbidden — Newsweek >
Synonyms: see support
III.
archaic
variant of brass III
IV. noun
brac·es plural : a nonremovable orthodontic appliance usually of metallic wire that is used especially to exert pressure to straighten misaligned teeth |