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in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Disc brake on a motorcycle.
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 ” ) .
Alternative forms
Noun
brake (plural brakes )
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.
She slammed the brakes when she saw a child run in front of the car.
You're pressing the brakes too hard - try just squeezing them.
The act of braking, of using a brake to slow down a machine or vehicle
give the car a quick brake
( engineering ) 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 .
( figuratively ) Something used to retard or stop some action, process etc.
( military ) An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista .
( obsolete ) The winch of a crossbow.
( chiefly nautical ) The handle of a pump .
Synonym: swipe
A baker 's kneading trough .
1617 , Gervase Markham, Cavalarice the English Horseman :You shall kneade [ …] first with handes‥lastly with the brake .
A device used to confine or prevent the motion of an animal.
A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith is shoeing him.
An enclosure to restrain cattle, horses, etc.
1868 , March 7, The Illustrated London News , number 1472, volume 52, “Law and Police”, page 223 :
He was shooting, and the field where the ring was verged on the shooting-brake where the rabbits were.
A cart or carriage without a body, used in breaking in horses.W
A carriage for transporting shooting parties and their equipment.W
That part of a carriage, as of a movable battery, or engine, which enables it to turn.
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
device used to slow or stop a vehicle
Afar: faréen
Albanian: frenë f
Arabic: فَرَمَلَة f ( faramala ) , مِكْبَح m ( mikbaḥ )
Hijazi Arabic: فَرامل f pl ( farāmil )
Armenian: արգելակ (hy) ( argelak )
Azerbaijani: əyləc (az)
Basque: galga
Belarusian: то́рмаз m ( tórmaz ) , гальмо́ n ( halʹmó ) , гальма́ч m ( halʹmáč )
Bengali: ব্রেক (bn) ( brek )
Bulgarian: спира́чка (bg) f ( spiráčka )
Burmese: ဘရိတ် (my) ( bha.rit )
Catalan: fre (ca) m
Cherokee: ᎦᏅᏠᏍᏗ ( ganvtlosdi )
Chinese:
Cantonese: (please verify ) 剎車 / 刹车 ( saat3 ce1 ) , 逼力 ( bik1-6 lik6-1 )
Mandarin: 剎車 / 刹车 (zh) ( shāchē ) , 制動器 / 制动器 (zh) ( zhìdòngqì )
Czech: brzda (cs) f
Danish: bremse (da) c
Dutch: rem (nl) , remmen (nl) pl , remmer (nl) m
Esperanto: bremsilo , bremso (eo)
Estonian: pidur
Faroese: bremsa f
Finnish: jarru (fi)
French: frein (fr) m
Friulian: slaif , fren , sierae
Galician: freo (gl) m , trabán m
Georgian: მუხრუჭი ( muxruč̣i )
German: Bremse (de) f
Greek: φρένο (el) n ( fréno ) , τροχοπέδη (el) f ( trochopédi ) , πέδη (el) ( pédi )
Hebrew: בלמים m pl ( b'lamím )
Hindi: ब्रेक (hi) ( brek )
Hungarian: fék (hu)
Icelandic: bremsa (is) f
Ido: freno (io)
Indonesian: rem (id)
Italian: freno (it) m
Japanese: ブレーキ (ja) ( burēki ) , 制動機 ( せいどうき, seidōki )
Kazakh: тормез ( tormez )
Khmer: ហ្វ្រ័ង ( frang ) , ហ្វ្រាំង ( frang )
Korean: 브레이크 (ko) ( beureikeu ) , 제동기 (ko) ( jedonggi )
Kyrgyz: тормоз ( tormoz )
Lao: ຫ້າມລໍ້ ( hām lǭ )
Latin: sufflāmen n
Latvian: bremze f
Lithuanian: stabdys m
Macedonian: кочница f ( kočnica )
Malay: brek (ms)
Maori: pereki
Mongolian: тоормос (mn) ( toormos )
Norman: chabot m
Norwegian: brems m
Occitan: fren (oc)
Oromo: fireenii
Persian:
Dari Persian: بریک (fa) ( brēk ) , ترمز (fa) ( turmuz )
Iranian Persian: ترمز (fa) ( tormoz )
Plautdietsch: Brams f , Bräk f
Polish: hamulec (pl) m
Portuguese: freio (pt) m , ( Portugal ) travão (pt) m
Romanian: frână (ro) f
Romansch: frain , frein , fragn
Russian: то́рмоз (ru) m ( tórmoz )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: кочница f
Roman: kočnica (sh) f
Slovak: brzda (sk) f
Slovene: zavora (sl) f
Spanish: freno (es) m
Swahili: breki
Swedish: broms (sv) c
Tagalog: preno
Tajik: тормоз ( tormoz )
Tamil: please add this translation if you can
Thai: เบรก (th) ( brèek )
Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: fren (tr) , eğleç
Turkmen: tormoz
Ukrainian: гальмо́ n ( halʹmó )
Urdu: بریک ( brek )
Uyghur: تورمۇز ( tormuz )
Uzbek: tormoz (uz)
Vietnamese: phanh (vi) , thắng (vi)
Welsh: brêc m , breciau m pl
something that slows or stops an action
Translations to be checked
Verb
brake (third-person singular simple present brakes , present participle braking , simple past and past participle braked )
( intransitive ) To operate (a) brake(s).
( intransitive ) To be stopped or slowed (as if) by braking.
Synonyms
( to operate brakes ) :
( to be stopped or slowed (as if) by braking ) : See also Thesaurus:stop
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
to operate brakes
Arabic: فَرْمَلَ ( farmala ) , َكَبَح ( akabaḥ )
Armenian: արգելակել ( argelakel )
Bulgarian: спирам (bg) ( spiram )
Catalan: frenar (ca)
Chinese:
Cantonese: 剎車 / 刹车 ( saat3 ce1 )
Mandarin: 剎車 / 刹车 (zh) ( shāchē ) , 制動 / 制动 (zh) ( zhìdòng ) , 煞車 / 煞车 (zh) ( shāchē )
Czech: brzdit
Dutch: remmen , op de rem staan/trappen
Finnish: jarruttaa (fi)
French: freiner (fr)
Georgian: ამუხრუჭებს ( amuxruč̣ebs )
German: bremsen (de)
Greek: φρενάρω (el) ( frenáro )
Hebrew: בלם (he) ( balám )
Hungarian: fékez (hu)
Italian: frenare (it)
Japanese: ブレーキ をかける ( burēki o kakeru )
Latin: sufflāminō
Latvian: bremzēt
Norman: êtreindre lé chabot
Occitan: frenar (oc)
Polish: hamować (pl) impf , zahamować (pl) pf
Portuguese: freiar , travar (pt)
Romanian: frâna (ro)
Russian: тормози́ть (ru) impf ( tormozítʹ ) , затормози́ть (ru) pf ( zatormozítʹ )
Serbo-Croatian:
Roman: kočiti (sh) impf , zakočiti (sh) pf
Spanish: frenar (es)
Swahili: piga breki
Swedish: bromsa (sv)
Tibetan: འཁོར་ལོ་བཀག ( 'khor lo bkag )
Ukrainian: гальмува́ти impf ( halʹmuváty ) , загальмува́ти pf ( zahalʹmuváty )
Vietnamese: thắng (vi) , hãm (vi) , phanh (vi)
to be stopped or slowed (as if) by braking
Translations to be checked
Etymology 2
Apparently a shortened form of bracken . (Compare chick , chicken .)
Noun
brake (plural brakes )
A fern ; bracken (Pteridium ).
Any fern in the genus Pteris
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 3
From Old English bracu , first attested in plural 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 ” ) .
Noun
brake (plural brakes )
A thicket , or an area overgrown with briers etc.
1593 , [William Shakespeare ], Venus and Adonis , London: Richard Field , , →OCLC ; Shakespeare’s Venus & Adonis: , 4th edition, London: J M Dent and Co. , 1896 , →OCLC :Rounds rising hillocks, brakes obscure and rough, / To shelter thee from tempest and from rain.
1807 , William Wordsworth, Poems , Fidelity:He halts, and searches with his eyes Among the scatter'd rocks: And now at distance can discern A stirring in a brake of fern [ …]
1859 , George Meredith , chapter 5, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. , volumes (please specify |volume=I to III) , London: Chapman and Hall , →OCLC :The bird, with its fellow in the break , drummed, and whirred, and to the misfortune of its species made its plumage seem a prize to them.
Derived terms
Translations
References
Etymology 4
Late Middle English , from Middle Low German brake , Dutch braak , Old Dutch braeke ; possibly related to sense 1 .
Noun
brake (plural brakes )
( textiles ) A tool used for breaking flax or hemp .
A type of machine for bending sheet metal . (See wikipedia .)
A large, heavy harrow for breaking clods after ploughing ; a drag .
Related terms
Translations
Verb
brake (third-person singular simple present brakes , present participle braking , simple past and past participle braked )
( transitive ) To bruise and crush ; to knead
The farmer's son brakes the flax while mother brakes the bread dough
( transitive ) To pulverise with a harrow
Derived terms
Translations
to pulverize with a harrow
Etymology 5
Uncertain.
Noun
brake (plural brakes )
( obsolete ) A cage .
( now historical ) A type of torture instrument.
2011 , Thomas Penn, Winter King , Penguin, published 2012 , page 83 :Methods of applying pain were many and ingenious, in particular the ways of twisting, stretching and manipulating the body out of shape, normally falling under the catch-all term of the rack, or the brakes .
Etymology 6
Inflected forms.
Verb
brake
( archaic ) simple past of break
Anagrams
Dutch
Pronunciation
Verb
brake
( dated or formal ) singular past subjunctive of breken
( dated or formal ) singular present subjunctive of braken
Anagrams
Yola
Pronunciation
Verb
brake
simple past of brough
1867 , CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY , page 114 , lines 12-14 :az avare ye trad dicke londe yer name waz ee-kent var ee vriene o' livertie , an He fo brake ye neckarès o' zlaves . for before your foot pressed the soil, your name was known to us as the friend of liberty , and he who broke the fetters of the slave .
References
Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland , London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867 , page 114