brace

1 verb

1 (T) to prepare for something unpleasant that is going to happen: brace yourself for: Nancy braced herself for the inevitable arguments. | brace yourself to do: Jean, you'd better brace yourself to hear bad news. | be braced for: The entire castle was braced for an attack.

2 (T) to push part of your body against something solid in order to make yourself more steady: brace sth against: Gina braced her foot against the wall and pulled herself up. | brace yourself: Before he could brace himself she'd shoved him out of the door.

3 (T) to make something stronger by supporting it: Wait until we've braced the ladder.

4 (I, T) to make your body or part of your body stiff in order to prepare to do something difficult: Stuart braced his muscles and heaved the fridge aside.

2 noun

1 TEETH

a) brace BrE braces especially AmE a connected set of wires that children sometimes wear on their teeth to make them straight

b) (C) BrE a wire frame that children sometimes have to put over their teeth to make them straight

2 SUPPORT

a) (C) something that is used to strengthen, stiffen, or support something: Cath had to wear a neck brace after the accident.

b) (countable usually plural) AmE a metal support that someone with weak legs wears to help them walk; callipers BrE

3 a brace of sth two birds or animals that have been killed for food or sport

4 PRINTED SIGN one of a pair of signs < > used to show that information written between them should be considered together

-compare bracket 1 (1)

5 braces BrE two long pieces of material that stretch over someone's shoulders and fasten to their trousers at the front and the back to stop them falling down; suspenders AmE