- [countable] a device that holds things together or holds and supports them in position
- a neck brace (= worn to support the neck after an injury)
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- knee
- leg
- neck
- …
- have
- wear
- brace on
Definitions on the go
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- [countable] (North American English braces [plural])a metal device that people, especially children, wear inside the mouth to help their teeth grow straight
- My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth.
Extra ExamplesTopics Bodyc2- He had braces on his teeth.
- I used to wear a brace.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- knee
- leg
- neck
- …
- have
- wear
- brace on
- braces(British English)(North American English suspenders)[plural] long narrow pieces of cloth, leather, etc. for holding trousers up. They are fastened to the top of the trousers at the front and back and passed over the shoulders.
- a pair of braces
- The braces held up his trousers.
Oxford Collocations Dictionarybraces + verb- hold something up
- support something
- (North American English) (British English calliper)[countable, usually plural] a metal support for weak or injured legsOxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
- knee
- leg
- neck
- …
- have
- wear
- brace on
- [countable] either of the two marks, { }, used to show that the words, etc. between them are connected compare bracketTopics Languagec2
- [countable] (plural brace)a pair of birds or animals that have been killed in hunting
- two brace of partridge(s)
- He scored a brace of goals.
Word OriginMiddle English (as a verb meaning ‘clasp, fasten tightly’): from Old French bracier ‘embrace’, from brace ‘two arms’, from Latin bracchia, plural of bracchium ‘arm’, from Greek brakhiōn.
Idioms
See brace in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarybelt and braces
- (informal) taking more actions than are really necessary to make sure that something succeeds or works as it should
- a belt-and-braces policy
More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spick and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
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brace