To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly.
To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.
To furnish with braces; to support; to prop.
To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police.
To confront with questions, demands or requests.
To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen.
To prepare for something bad, such as an impact or blow.
To swing round the yards of a square rigged ship, using braces, to present a more efficient sail surface to the direction of the wind.
Harness; warlike preparation.
That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension.
The state of being braced or tight; tension.
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.
A system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth or to reduce overbite.
Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
Two goals scored by one player in a game.
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. (The plural in this sense is unchanged.) In British use (as plural), this is a particularly common reference to game birds.
A curved, pointed line, also known as "curly bracket": { or } connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be considered together, such as in {role, roll}; in music, used to connect staves.
A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
A thong used to regulate the tension of a drum.
The mouth of a shaft.
To prop; support; sustain; hold up; steady.
To live; reside
To incline forward, aft, or to one side by means of stays.
To put off; defer; postpone; delay; keep back.
To brace or support with a stay or stays
To remain in a particular place, especially for a definite or short period of time; sojourn; abide.
To stop; detain; keep back; delay; hinder.
To continue to have a particular quality.
To change; tack; go about; be in stays, as a ship.
To hold out, as in a race or contest; last or persevere to the end; to show staying power.
To restrain; withhold; check; stop.
To hold the attention of.
To cause to cease; to put an end to.
To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time.
To tack; put on the other tack.
A guy, rope, or wire supporting or stabilizing a platform, such as a bridge, a pole, such as a tentpole, the mast of a derrick, or other structural element.
Continuance or a period of time spent in a place; abode for an indefinite time.
A piece of stiff material, such as plastic or whalebone, used to stiffen a piece of clothing.
A corset.
Restraint of passion; prudence; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety.
A fixed state; fixedness; stability; permanence.
A strong rope or wire supporting a mast, and leading from one masthead down to some other, or other part of the vessel.
The transverse piece in a chain-cable link.
A prop; a support.
A postponement, especially of an execution or other punishment.
A station or fixed anchorage for vessels.
Steeply.
Steep; ascending.
Difficult to negotiate; not easy to access; sheer.
Stiff; upright; unbending; reserved; haughty; proud.
(of a roof) Steeply pitched.