English Explanatory Dictionary

brake

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A device used to slow or stop the motion of a wheel, or of a vehicle, usually by friction (although other resistive forces, such as electromagnetic fields or aerodynamic drag, can also be used); also, the controls or apparatus used to engage such a mechanism such as the pedal in a car.
  2. The act of braking, of using a brake to slow down a machine or vehicle
  3. An apparatus for testing the power of a steam engine or other motor by weighing the amount of friction that the motor will overcome; a friction brake.
  4. Something used to retard or stop some action, process etc.
  5. An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista.
  6. The winch of a crossbow.
  7. The handle of a pump.
  8. A baker’s kneading trough.
  9. A device used to confine or prevent the motion of an animal.
  10. A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith is shoeing it.
  11. An enclosure to restrain cattle, horses, etc.
  12. A cart or carriage without a body, used in breaking in horses.ᵂ
verb
  1. To operate a brake or brakes.
  2. To be stopped or slowed (as if) by braking.
noun
  1. Certain ferns, including
  2. Any fern in the genus Pteris.
  3. Bracken (Pteridium spp.).
noun
  1. A thicket, or an area overgrown with briers etc.
noun
  1. A type of machine for bending sheet metal. (See wikipedia.)
  2. A large, heavy harrow for breaking clods of earth after ploughing; a drag.
  3. A tool used for breaking flax or hemp.
verb
  1. To bruise and crush; to knead.
  2. To pulverise with a harrow.
noun
  1. A cage.
  2. A type of torture instrument.
verb
  1. simple past of break
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

brāk /bɹeɪk/ en-us-brake.ogg

Word forms

brake brakes break braking braked

Etymology

Origin uncertain; possibly from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German brake (“nose ring, curb, flax brake”), which according to Watkins is related to sense 4 and from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”).

Synonyms

swipe trave cataract

Antonyms

floor it put the pedal to the metal redline accelerate

Related words

hackle ripple scutch swingle

Derived words

ABS brake air brake airbrake air-braked antilock brake autobrake back pedal brake band brake brake assembly brake band brake bias brake block brake check brake cylinder brake disc brake drum brake dust brake fade brake fluid brakeforce brakeful brakegear brake gear brake harrow brake horsepower brakeless brake light brake line brake lining brakeload brakemaker brakeman brakesman brake mean effective pressure brake noodle brake pad brakepad brake pedal brake pipe brakepipe brake press brake shoe brakeshoe brake tender brake test brake van brake wheel brakewoman brakey bread brake brifter caliper brake cane brake clasp brake coaster brake deadman's brake dead man's brake disc brake drum brake dynamic brake

Translations

Afar: faréen Albanian: frenë Amharic: ፍሬን Arabic: فَرَمَلَة Arabic: مِكْبَح Arabic: فَرامل Armenian: արգելակ Azerbaijani: əyləc Basque: galga Belarusian: то́рмаз Belarusian: гальмо́ Belarusian: гальма́ч Bengali: ব্রেক Bulgarian: спира́чка Burmese: ဘရိတ် Catalan: fre Cherokee: ᎦᏅᏠᏍᏗ Chinese Cantonese: 逼力 Chinese: 跤擋 /跤挡 Chinese Mandarin: 剎車 /刹车 Chinese Mandarin: 制動器 /制动器 Czech: brzda Danish: bremse Dutch: rem Dutch: remmen Dutch: remmer Esperanto: bremsilo Esperanto: bremso Estonian: pidur Faroese: bremsa Finnish: jarru French: frein Friulian: slaif Friulian: fren Friulian: sierae Galician: freo Galician: trabán Georgian: მუხრუჭი German: Bremse Greek: φρένο Greek: τροχοπέδη Greek: πέδη Hebrew: בְּלָמִים Hindi: ब्रेक Hungarian: fék Icelandic: bremsa Ido: freno Indonesian: rem Italian: freno Japanese: ブレーキ Japanese: 制動機 Kazakh: тормез Khmer: ហ្វ្រ័ង Khmer: ហ្វ្រាំង Korean: 브레이크 Korean: 제동기
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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