brace

To brace is to build extra support for something, to use support to stay balanced yourself, or to prepare someone to receive bad news. (verb)

An example of brace is wood pillars that support a roof.
An example of brace is when you press your hand against the side of a wall as you descend steep stairs.
An example of brace is when you tell someone to sit down because you have something upsetting to tell him.

A brace is a support for something such as a building part or an injured body part. (noun)

See brace in Webster's New World College Dictionary

See brace in American Heritage Dictionary 4

(brās)

noun

A device that holds or fastens two or more parts together or in place; a clamp.
A device, such as a supporting beam in a building or a connecting wire or rope, that steadies or holds something else erect.
braces Chiefly British Suspenders.
An orthopedic appliance used to support, align, or hold a bodily part in the correct position.
A dental appliance constructed of bands and wires that is fixed to the teeth to correct irregular alignment. Often used in the plural.
An extremely stiff, erect posture.
A cause or source of renewed physical or spiritual vigor.
A protective pad strapped to the bow arm of an archer.
Nautical A rope by which a yard is swung and secured on a square-rigged ship.
A cranklike handle with an adjustable aperture at one end for securing and turning a bit.
Music A leather loop that slides to change the tension on the cord of a drum.
Music
a. A vertical line, usually accompanied by the symbol {, connecting two or more staffs.
b. A set of staffs connected in this way.
A symbol, { or }, enclosing two or more lines of text or listed items to show that they are considered as a unit.
Mathematics Either of a pair of symbols, { }, used to indicate aggregation or to clarify the grouping of quantities when parentheses and square brackets have already been used. Also called bracket.
pl. brace brace A pair of like things: three brace of partridges.

verb braced braced, brac·ing, brac·es

verb, transitive

To furnish with a brace.
To support or hold steady with or as if with a brace; reinforce.
To prepare or position so as to be ready for impact or danger: Union members braced themselves for a confrontation with management.
To confront with questions or requests.
To increase the tension of.
To invigorate; stimulate: “The freshness of the September morning inspired and braced him” (Thomas Hardy).
Nautical To turn (the yards of a ship) by the braces.

verb, intransitive

To get ready; make preparations.

Phrasal Verb: brace up To summon one's strength or endurance.

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