[breɪs], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a device fitted to something, in particular a weak or injured part of the body, to give support
(e.g: a neck brace)

- a pair of straps that pass over the shoulders and fasten to the top of trousers at the front and back to hold them up

- a pair of something, typically of birds or mammals killed in hunting
(e.g: thirty brace of grouse)

- either of the two marks { and }, used either to indicate that two or more items on one side have the same relationship as each other to the single item to which the other side points, or in pairs to show that words between them are connected


Phrases:

Origin:
Middle English (as a verb meaning ‘clasp, fasten tightly’): from Old French bracier ‘embrace’, from brace ‘two arms’, from Latin bracchia, plural of bracchium ‘arm’, from Greek brakhiōn

[breɪs], (Verb)

Definitions:
- make (a structure) stronger or firmer with wood, iron, or other forms of support
(e.g: the posts were braced by lengths of timber)

- prepare (oneself) for something difficult or unpleasant
(e.g: both stations are bracing themselves for job losses)


Phrases:

Origin:
Middle English (as a verb meaning ‘clasp, fasten tightly’): from Old French bracier ‘embrace’, from brace ‘two arms’, from Latin bracchia, plural of bracchium ‘arm’, from Greek brakhiōn