Brace

·noun The mouth of a shaft.

II. Brace ·noun Harness; warlike preparation.

III. Brace ·noun Armor for the arm; vantbrace.

IV. Brace ·vt To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.

V. Brace ·noun The state of being braced or tight; tension.

VI. Brace ·noun Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.

VII. Brace ·vi To get tone or vigor; to rouse one's energies;

— with up.

VIII. Brace ·vt To move around by means of braces; as, to brace the yards.

IX. Brace ·noun That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.

X. Brace ·noun A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, ·etc.; a bitstock.

XI. Brace ·noun A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension, as a cord on the side of a drum.

XII. Brace ·vt To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly; as, he braced himself against the crowd.

XIII. Brace ·noun A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks; now rarely applied to persons, except familiarly or with some contempt.

XIV. Brace ·noun A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.

XV. Brace ·vt To furnish with braces; to Support; to Prop; as, to brace a beam in a building.

XVI. Brace ·noun 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.

XVII. Brace ·vt To draw tight; to Tighten; to put in a state of tension; to Strain; to Strengthen; as, to brace the nerves.

XVIII. Brace ·noun 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.