braces

Armor for the arm; vambrace.

A measurement of length, originally representing a person's outstretched arms.

A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.

That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.

A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension.

A thong used to regulate the tension of a drum.

The state of being braced or tight; tension.

Harness; warlike preparation.

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.

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. (The plural in this sense is unchanged.) In British use (as plural), this is a particularly common reference to game birds.

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 rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.

The mouth of a shaft.

(chiefly in the plural) Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.

(plural in North America, singular or plural in the UK) A system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth or to reduce overbite.

Two goals scored by one player in a game.

To prepare for something bad, such as an impact or blow.

“All hands, brace for impact!”

To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly.

“He braced himself against the crowd.”

To swing round the yards of a square rigged ship, using braces, to present a more efficient sail surface to the direction of the wind.

“to brace the yards”

To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police.

To confront with questions, demands or requests.

To furnish with braces; to support; to prop.

“to brace a beam in a building”

To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen.

“to brace the nerves”

To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.