Brace

1. To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen; as, to brace the nerves.
2. To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly; as, he braced himself against the crowd.
3. A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks; now rarely applied to persons, except familiarly or with some contempt.
4. Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
5. Armor for the arm; vantbrace.
6. A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension, as a cord on the side of a drum.
7. A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
8. A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
9. The state of being braced or tight; tension.
10. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
11. To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.
12. To furnish with braces; to support; to prop; as, to brace a beam in a building.
13. To get tone or vigor; to rouse one's energies; -- with up.
14. Harness; warlike preparation.
15. To move around by means of braces; as, to brace the yards.
16. 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.
17. A vertical curved line connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be taken together; thus, boll, bowl; or, in music, used to connect staves.
18. The mouth of a shaft.