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1713, W[illiam] Derham, Physico-Theology: Or, A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God, from His Works of Creation., London: W Innys,, →OCLC:
The little bones of the ear drum do in straining and relaxing it as the braces of the war drum do in that.
And I am of opinion, that the moſt frequent cauſe of Deafneſs is to be attributed to the Laxneſs of the Tympanum, vvhen it has loſt its Brace or Tenſion by ſome irregularity in the Figure of thoſe Bones, or defect in that Muſcle: […]
’Tis a Pageant / To keepe vs in falſe gaze, when we conſider / Th’importancie of Cyprus to the Turke; / And let our ſelues againe but vnderſtand, / That as it more concerne the Turke then Rhodes, / So may he with more facile queſtion beare it, / For that it ſtands not in ſuch Warrelike brace, / But altogether lackes th’abilities / That Rhodes is dreſs’d in.
(plural brace) A pair, a couple; originally used of dogs, and later of animals generally (e.g., a brace of conies) and then other things, but rarely human persons. (In British use (as plural), this is a particularly common reference to game birds.)
But you, my brace of Lords, were I ſo minded / I heere could plucke his Highneſſe frowne vpon you / And iuſtifie you Traitors: […]
1655, Thomas Fuller, “Section II. The Seventh Century.”, in The Church-history of Britain;, London: Iohn Williams, →OCLC, book II, subsection 84 (St. Cedde and St. Chad), page 127:
A brace of brethren, both bishops, both eminent for learning and religion, now appeared in the church; […]
1716 May 4 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 36. Monday, April 23. ”, in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq;, volume IV, London: Jacob Tonson,, published 1721, →OCLC, page 493:
He is ſaid, this ſummer to have ſhot with his own hands fifty brace of pheaſants, and one wild pig; to have ſet thirty coveys of partridges; and to have hunted down forty brace of hares; […]
"Are you a prime shot?" said Richard. / Ripton nodded knowingly, and answered, "Pretty good." / "Then we'll have a dozen brace apiece to-day," said Richard.
There were four of us,—my friend the captain, myself, an old sportsman from Sognedale, called Peter Sandaker, and a smart boy, who had charge of two brace of hounds.
He had had a good day, for several brace of wild fowl hung from his shoulder, and he appeared tired.
A piece of material used to transmit, or change the direction of, weight or pressure; any one of the pieces, in a frame or truss, which divide the structure into triangular parts. It may act as a tie, or as a strut, and serves to prevent distortion of the structure, and transverse strains in its members. A boiler brace is a diagonal stay, connecting the head with the shell.
(British, chiefly in the plural) Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
(plural in North America, singular or plural in the UK) A system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth or to reduce overbite.
28 March 2023, Graeme McGarry, “Scott McTominay earns place in history as Scotland stun Spain”, in The Herald:
The Manchester United midfielder’s late brace against Cyprus at the weekend was welcome, but will become no more than a footnote of his Scotland career. His brace here to down the mighty Spanish will go down in history.
2020 October 23, “What is a brace in soccer?”, in Goal:
To score a 'brace' means that you have scored two goals in a game.
Synonyms
(measure of length representing a person's outstretched arms):fathom
The boy has no idea about everything that's been going on. You need to brace him for what's about to happen.
2013 January 22, Phil McNulty, “Aston Villa 2-1 Bradford (3-4)”, in BBC:
Bradford would have been braced for an early assault from Villa as they tried to cut the deficit - and so it proved as they struggled to control the physical presence and aerial threat of Benteke, who headed straight at Bradford keeper Matt Duke when he should have done better.
To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly.
He braced himself against the crowd.
1845, Edward Fairfax (tr.), Godfrey of Bulloigne; or, The Recovery of Jerusalem: Done into English Heroical Verse:
To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police.
To confront with questions, demands or requests.
1980, Stephen King, The Wedding Gig:
Just about then the young kid who had braced us when we came in uttered a curse and made for the door.
2018 February 11, Colin Dexter, Russell Lewis, 58:13 from the start, in Endeavour(Cartouche), season 5, episode 2 (TV series), spoken by DCI Fred Thursday (Roger Allam):
“Constable Fancy’s collecting evidence from his flat while Morse and me brace Valdemar.”
To furnish with braces; to support; to prop.
to brace a beam in a building
To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen.