# brace

> English word · Noun · IPA /bɹeɪs/ · frequency rank #10,820

## Definitions
1. Armor for the arm; vambrace.
2. A measurement of length, originally representing a person's outstretched arms.
3. A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
4. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
5. A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension.
6. A thong used to regulate the tension of a drum.
7. The state of being braced or tight; tension.
8. Harness; warlike preparation.
9. A curved, pointed line, also known as "curly bracket": { or } connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be considered together, such as in {role, roll}; in music, used to connect staves.
10. 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.)
11. 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.
12. A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
13. The mouth of a shaft.
14. Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
15. A system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth or to reduce overbite.
16. Two goals scored by one player in a game.
17. Two wickets taken with two consecutive deliveries.

## Etymology
From Middle English brace, from Old French brace (“arm”), from Latin bracchia, the nominative and accusative plural of bracchium (“arm”).

## Easily confused with
- **brad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brad)
- **brag** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brag)
- **brat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brat)
- **bray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-bray)
- **bran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-bran)
- **bree** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-bree)
- **brie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brie)
- **brah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brah)
- **BRIC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-bric)
- **brain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brain)
- **broke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-broke)
- **brand** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brand)
- **Bruce** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-bruce)
- **brave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brave)
- **brick** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brick)
- **bride** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-bride)
- **brass** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brass)
- **Brady** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brady)
- **brake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-brake)
- **bravo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brace-vs-bravo)

## Common misspellings (7)
`barce`, `bbrace`, `bracce`, `braec`, `brcae`, `brrace`, `rbace`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/brace