Definition of "brace" []

• A device that holds or fastens two or more parts together or in place; a clamp. (noun)
• A device, such as a supporting beam in a building or a connecting wire or rope, that steadies or holds something else erect. (noun)
• Chiefly British Suspenders. (noun)
• An orthopedic appliance used to support, align, or hold a bodily part in the correct position. (noun)
• A dental appliance constructed of bands and wires that is fixed to the teeth to correct irregular alignment. Often used in the plural. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The term brace, which imports a pair, was employed."
• "Going back to a brace is a step backward; digression."
• "But the point I refer to is this: the old instrument, the trepan, had a handle like a wimble, what we call a brace or bit-stock."