- (v.t.) An instrument or machine to break or bruise the woody part of flax or hemp so that it may be separated from the fiber.
- (n.) A fern of the genus Pteris, especially the P. aquilina, common in almost all countries. It has solitary stems dividing into three principal branches. Less properly: Any fern.
- (v.t.) A piece of mechanism for retarding or stopping motion by friction, as of a carriage or railway car, by the pressure of rubbers against the wheels or of clogs or ratchets against the track or roadway or of a pivoted lever against a wheel or drum in a machine.
- (v.t.) A cart or carriage without a body, used in breaking in horses.
- (v.t.) A sharp bit or snaffle.
- (v.t.) A baker's kneading though.
- (v.t.) A large, heavy harrow for breaking clods after plowing; a drag.
- (v.t.) An ancient instrument of torture.
- imp. of Break.
- (v.t.) A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith is shoeing him; also, an inclosure to restrain cattle, horses, etc.
- of Break.
- (v.t.) That part of a carriage, as of a movable battery or engine, which enables it to turn.
- (n.) A thicket; a place overgrown with shrubs and brambles, with undergrowth and ferns or with canes.
- (v.t.) An extended handle by means of which a number of men can unite in working a pump, as in a fire engine.
- (v.t.) 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.
- (v.t.) An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). brake. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/brake/definitions/1982125 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "brake" http://smartdefine.org/brake/definitions/1982125 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, brake, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/brake/definitions/1982125>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "brake" 27 May 2011. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/brake/definitions/1982125> |