brake¹ / brāk/ • n. a device for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, typically by applying pressure to the wheels: he slammed on his brakes. ∎  a thing that slows or hinders a process: China's decision to put the brakes on economic reform. • v. [intr.] make a moving vehicle slow down or stop by using a brake: drivers who brake abruptly [as adj.] (braking) an anti-lock braking system. brake² • n. hist. an open, horse-drawn, four-wheeled carriage. brake³ • n. a toothed instrument used for crushing flax and hemp. ∎  (also brake harrow) a heavy machine formerly used in agriculture for breaking up large lumps of earth. brake⁴ • n. archaic or poetic/lit. a thicket. See also canebrake, fernbrake. brake² (also brake fern) • n. a coarse fern (genus Pteris, family Pteridaceae) of warm and tropical countries, frequently having the fronds divided into long linear segments. ∎  archaic term for bracken. brake³ • archaic past of break.

brake •ache, awake, bake, betake, Blake, brake, break, cake, crake, drake, fake, flake, forsake, hake, Jake, lake, make, mistake, opaque, partake, quake, rake, sake, shake, sheikh, slake, snake, splake, stake, steak, strake, take, undertake, wake, wideawake •bellyache • clambake • headache •backache • pancake • teacake •seedcake • beefcake • cheesecake •fishcake • johnnycake • tipsy cake •rock cake • shortcake • oatcake •oilcake • fruitcake • cupcake •pat-a-cake • cornflake • snowflake •rattlesnake • handbrake • mandrake •heartbreak • airbrake • daybreak •jailbreak • canebrake • windbreak •tiebreak • corncrake • outbreak •footbrake • muckrake • earache •firebreak • namesake • keepsake •handshake • milkshake • heartache •beefsteak • sweepstake • stocktake •out-take • uptake • grubstake •wapentake • toothache • seaquake •kittiwake • moonquake • earthquake

brake Device for slowing the speed of a vehicle or machine. Braking can be accomplished by a mechanical, hydraulic (liquid), or pneumatic (air) system that presses a non-rotating part into contact with a rotating part, so that friction stops the motion. In a car, the non-rotating part is called a shoe or pad, and the rotating part is a disc or drum attached to a wheel. Some vehicles use electromagnetic effects to oppose the motion and cause braking. A ‘power’ brake utilizes a vacuum system.

brake1 thicket. OE. bracu, corr. to MLG. brake branch, etc.; prob. f. *brak- *brek- BREAK1, the orig. sense being ‘broken wood’ perh. reinforced in ME, from LG.

brake3 apparatus for retarding the motion of a wheel. XVIII. prob. spec. use of †brake bridle, curb (XV-XVIII) — MDu. braeke, rel. to breken BREAK1.