bracket
/ˈbɹækɪt/noun, verb
bracket is spelled B-R-A-C-K-E-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 6.9 times per million words in written English, the 9,045th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bracket means “A fixture attached to a wall to hold up a shelf” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bracket is brackets.
How many letters and syllables are in bracket?
| Letters | 7: B-R-A-C-K-E-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.9 times per million words; the 9,045th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bracket?
Bracket appears 6.9 times per million words in written English, the 9,045th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bracket?
- /ˈbɹækɪt/
Bracket has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bracket.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bracket
- brackets plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- bracketing participle, present
- bracketed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bracket mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A fixture attached to a wall to hold up a shelf.
- 2
Any intermediate object that connects a smaller part to a larger part, the smaller part typically projecting sideways from the larger part.
- 3
A short crooked timber, resembling a knee, used as a support.
- 4
The cheek or side of an ordnance carriage, supporting the trunnions.
- 5
UK“(” and “)” specifically, the other forms above requiring adjectives for disambiguation.
- 6
US“[” and “]” specifically, as opposed to the other forms, which have their own technical names.
- 7
A diagram of games in a tournament.
- 8
A prediction of the outcome of games in a tournament, used for betting purposes.
- 9
Alternative form of bragget (“drink made with ale and honey”).
verb
- 1
To support by means of mechanical brackets.
- 2
To enclose in typographical brackets.
- 3
To bound on both sides, to surround, as enclosing with brackets.
- 4
To place in the same category.
Because they didn’t have enough young boys for two full teams, they bracketed the seven-year-olds with the eight-year-olds.
- 5
To mark distinctly for special treatment.
- 6
To set aside, discount, ignore.
SIL got access to academic legitimacy; linguists bracketed the evangelical engine that drives SIL because they got access to data and tools.
- 7
To gauge the range of a target by firing equally short and long of it and ranging the weapon between the two to achieve a very accurate hit.
- 8
To take multiple images of the same subject, using a range of exposure settings, in order to help ensure that a satisfactory image is obtained.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bracket in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Winkel, Träger, Konsole, Böckchen, Winkelstück, Halter |
| Portuguese | cantoneira, cachorro, consola , suporte , parêntese , tabela |
| Spanish | consola, soporte, canecillo , ménsula |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bracket come from?
From earlier bragget, *bracket, from Middle English *braget, *braket (attested in braket nail), from Old French braguette (“the opening in the fore part of a pair of breeches, one's fly”), a diminutive of Old French brague (“knickers, britches”), from Old Occitan braga, from Latin brāca (“pants”), from Transalpine Gaulish *brāca, from Proto-Germanic *brāks, an early form of Proto-Germanic *brōks (“leggings, breeches, trousers”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).