Link Centre Dictionary

brake

UK/bɹeɪk/ US/ˈbreɪk/ fairly common
noun (4) verb (2)

noun

1.

a restraint used to slow or stop a vehicle

2.

any of various ferns of the genus Pteris having pinnately compound leaves and including several popular houseplants

3.
4.

verb

1.

stop travelling by applying a brake

  • “We had to brake suddenly when a chicken crossed the road”
2.

cause to stop by applying the brakes

  • “brake the car before you go into a curve”

Origin

From Old English *bracu, attested in a plural compound form fearnbraca (“thickets of fern”), probably from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”) and influenced by sense 2 (“fern”). Compare Middle Low German brake (“stump, branch”).

Phrases

  • ABS brake Terms derived from brake
  • air brake Terms derived from brake
  • antilock brake Terms derived from brake
  • back pedal brake Terms derived from brake
  • Bahama brake
  • band brake Terms derived from brake
  • brake assembly Terms derived from brake
  • brake band Terms derived from brake
  • brake bias Terms derived from brake
  • Buchanan's brake
  • coastal brake
  • Cretan brake

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.