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# brace

«brace» in Mova's school dictionary: **A metal or plastic device fixed to teeth to straighten…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a brace, braces); verb (brace, braces, braced, bracing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A metal or plastic device fixed to teeth to straighten them (braces). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#m1)

2) A support that holds a broken or weak body part, like a knee brace or neck brace. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#m2)

3) Braces (UK) are straps over the shoulders that hold up trousers; Americans call them suspenders. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#m3)

4) To get ready for something difficult or a hit, by making your body firm or your mind ready (brace yourself). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#m4)

5) To press or hold something firmly so it stays steady. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#m5)

6) A curly bracket { } used in maths and computing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#m6)

7) A brace of: a pair (old-fashioned, used for birds). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#m7)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life many children wear braces on their teeth for a while. In safety lessons, on a plane the «brace position» protects you in an emergency landing; injured joints may need a brace. In stories «brace yourself» warns that something big or bad is coming. In maths and coding, braces { } group things. Phrases: brace yourself, brace for, brace position, knee brace, have braces.

### examples

- Lily got braces to straighten her teeth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#x1)
- Brace yourself — the roller coaster is about to drop! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#x2)
- The flight attendant showed us the brace position. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#x3)
- He wore a brace on his knee after the football injury. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#x4)
- Dad's trousers were held up by red braces. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#x5)
- She braced her feet against the wall and pulled the rope. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#x6)
- The town braced for the storm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#x7)
- In maths, braces { } show a set of numbers. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/#x8)

### note

Teeth: «braces» is usually plural even for one set (I have braces). UK braces = US suspenders; UK «suspenders» are something else, so this is a trap between countries. Bracing (adjective) also means fresh and cold: a bracing sea wind.

### In the corpora

- [With a brace you brush very carefully around the wires and avoid sticky and hard food.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/75-the-dentist-and-washing-hands/9/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «brace» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/brace/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.