| • | That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop. |
| • | A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension, as a cord on the side of a drum. |
| • | The state of being braced or tight; tension. |
| • | 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. |
| • | 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. |
| • | A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon. |
| • | A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock. |
| • | A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks; now rarely applied to persons, except familiarly or with some contempt. |
| • | Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders. |
| • | Harness; warlike preparation. |
| • | Armor for the arm; vantbrace. |
| • | The mouth of a shaft. |
| • | To furnish with braces; to support; to prop; as, to brace a beam in a building. |
| • | To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen; as, to brace the nerves. |
| • | To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly. |
| • | To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly; as, he braced himself against the crowd. |
| • | To move around by means of braces; as, to brace the yards. |
| • | To get tone or vigor; to rouse one's energies; -- with up. |
