brake
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: brāk
ipa: /bɹeɪk/
rhymes: -eɪk
homophone: break
Forms: form: brakes
form: break
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”).
Senses: examples: text: She slammed the brakes when she saw a child run in front of the car.
text: You’re pressing the brakes too hard—try just squeezing them.
text: Auxiliaries and ancillaries are comprehensive, and include a Westinghouse motor-driven recriprocating compressor used for locomotive braking and general service air, two rotary exhauster sets for train brakes when hauling passenger or fitted freight trains, and an oil-fired train heating boiler.
ref: 1950 November 23, “Mixed-Traffic Diesel-Electric Locomotives for Ireland”, in Railway Magazine, page 781:
glosses: 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.
examples: text: Give the car a quick brake.
glosses: 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.
The act of braking, of using a brake to slow down a machine or vehicle
topics: engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: 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.
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.
glosses: 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.
Something used to retard or stop some action, process etc.
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista.
topics: government
military
politics
war
glosses: An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista.
The winch of a crossbow.
topics: nautical
transport
synonyms: swipe
glosses: The handle of a pump.
examples: text: You shall kneade[…]first with handes‥lastly with the brake.
ref: 1617, Gervase Markham, Cavalarice the English Horseman:
glosses: A baker’s kneading trough.
coordinate_terms: chute
glosses: A device used to confine or prevent the motion of an animal.
A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith is shoeing it.
synonyms: trave
examples: text: He was shooting, and the field where the [cock-fighting] ring was verged on the shooting-brake where the rabbits were.
ref: 1868, March 7, The Illustrated London News, number 1472, volume 52, “Law and Police”, page 223
coordinate_terms: chute
glosses: A device used to confine or prevent the motion of an animal.
An enclosure to restrain cattle, horses, etc.
coordinate_terms: chute
glosses: A device used to confine or prevent the motion of an animal.
A cart or carriage without a body, used in breaking in horses.ᵂ
examples: text: It had been arranged as part of the day’s programme that Mr. Cooke was to drive those who wished to go over the Rise in his new brake.
ref: 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
text: A few moments later they heard the sound of an engine, and a muddy shooting brake appeared on the road behind them.
ref: 1976, Terrance Dicks, chapter 1, in Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster, page 11:
coordinate_terms: chute
glosses: A device used to confine or prevent the motion of an animal.
A carriage for transporting shooting parties and their equipment.ᵂ
glosses: That part of a carriage, as of a movable battery, or engine, which enables it to turn.
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from brake
word: ABS brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: air brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: airbrake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: air-braked
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: antilock brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: autobrake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: back pedal brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: band brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake assembly
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake band
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake bias
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake block
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake check
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake cylinder
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake disc
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake drum
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake dust
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake fade
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake fluid
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakeforce
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakeful
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakegear
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake gear
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake harrow
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake horsepower
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakeless
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake light
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake line
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake lining
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakeload
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakemaker
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakeman
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakesman
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake mean effective pressure
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake noodle
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake pad
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakepad
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake pedal
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake pipe
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakepipe
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake press
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake shoe
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakeshoe
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake tender
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake test
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake van
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brake wheel
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakewoman
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brakey
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: bread brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: brifter
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: caliper brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: cane brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: coaster brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: dead man's brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: deadman's brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: disc brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: drum brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: dynamic brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: e-brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: emergency brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: foot brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: friction brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: hand brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: handbrake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: independent brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: jake brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: muzzle brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: parabrake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: parking brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: press brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: Prony brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: put the brakes on
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: rail brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: regenerative brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: ribbon brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: rim brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: sand brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: service brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: shooting brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: shooting-brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: spoon brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: strap brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: track brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: tread brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: unbraked
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: vacuum brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: V brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: water brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: Westinghouse brake
sense: Terms derived from brake
word: wheelbrake