What does "brand" mean?
A mark or scar made by burning with a hot iron, especially to mark cattle or to classify the contents of a cask.
Brand
/bɹænd/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A mark or scar made by burning with a hot iron, especially to mark cattle or to classify the contents of a cask.
- Grammar: brand is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: brand name, make, mark, acid.
- Useful contrasts: bad reputation, disrepute, erase.
- Usage evidence: Your idea cannot be brand new. I heard about it from another source last year.
How to use "brand"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "brand" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "brand" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "brand" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "brand" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "brand" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "brand name" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "brand", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A mark or scar made by burning with a hot iron, especially to mark cattle or to classify the contents of a cask.
"“Well, in the first place, every cattleman has to have a brand to identify his stock. Without it no cattleman, nor half a hundred cowboys, if he had so many, could ever recognize all the cattle in a big herd. […]”"
- 2 a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard wordnet
- 3 A branding iron.
- 4 a recognizable kind wordnet
- 5 The symbolic identity, represented by a name and/or a logo, which indicates a certain product or service to the public.
"The Amtrak brand revitalization approach represents one of the most ambitious, comprehensive, and systematic experiential marketing approaches I have ever seen."
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 a symbol of disgrace or infamy wordnet
- 7 A specific product, service, or provider so distinguished.
"Some brands of breakfast cereal contain a lot of sugar."
- 8 identification mark on skin, made by burning wordnet
- 9 Any specific type or variety of something; a distinct style or manner. broadly
"I didn’t appreciate his particular brand of flattery."
- 10 a name given to a product or service wordnet
- 11 The public image or reputation and recognized, typical style of an individual or group.
"The Obama brand had taken a hit two months earlier, when he campaigned for Creigh Deeds in Virginia and Jon Corzine in New Jersey, only to see them both lose."
- 12 a piece of wood that has been burned or is burning wordnet
- 13 A mark of infamy; stigma.
- 14 Any minute fungus producing a burnt appearance in plants.
- 15 A torch used for signaling. Northern-England, Scotland
- 16 A flame. obsolete, rare
"Goe to prepare the maryages what neede the torchis light? be holde the towres of troy do shyne with brandes that blase full bright."
- 17 A conflagration. obsolete, rare
- 18 A piece of burning wood or peat, or a glowing cinder. archaic, poetic
"to burn something to brands and ashes"
- 19 A sword. archaic
"Paradise, so late their happy seat, / Waved over by that flaming brand."
Verb
- 1 To burn the flesh with a hot iron, either as a marker (for criminals, slaves etc.) or to cauterise a wound. transitive
"When they caught him, he was branded and then locked up."
- 2 mark or expose as infamous wordnet
- 3 To burn the flesh with a hot iron, either as a marker (for criminals, slaves etc.) or to cauterise a wound.; To mark (especially cattle) with a brand as proof of ownership. transitive
"The ranch hands had to brand every new calf by lunchtime."
- 4 mark with a brand or trademark wordnet
- 5 To make an indelible impression on the memory or senses. transitive
"Her face is branded upon my memory."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful wordnet
- 7 To stigmatize, label (someone). transitive
"He was branded a fool by everyone that heard his story."
- 8 burn with a branding iron to indicate ownership; of animals wordnet
- 9 To associate a product or service with a trademark or other name and related images. transitive
"They branded the new detergent "Suds-O", with a nature scene inside a green O on the muted-colored recycled-cardboard box."
- 10 To be very hot, to burn. intransitive
"O, not for thee the glow, the bloom, Who changest not in any gale, Nor branding summer suns avail To touch thy thousand years of gloom: […]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 A municipality in Bludenz district, Vorarlberg, Austria. countable, uncountable
- 3 A municipality in Tirschenreuth district, Bavaria, Germany. countable, uncountable
- 4 A borough of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. countable, uncountable
- 5 A hamlet in Beekdaelen municipality, Limburg province, Netherlands. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Your idea cannot be brand new. I heard about it from another source last year."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "brand"?
Common synonyms include: brand name, make, mark, acid, actual cautery, adidas.
How do you use "brand" in a sentence?
Your idea cannot be brand new. I heard about it from another source last year.
How do you pronounce "brand"?
Pronounced /bɹænd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English brand, from Old English brand (“fire; flame; burning; torch; sword”), from Proto-West Germanic *brand, from Proto-Germanic *brandaz (“flame; flaming; fire-brand; torch; sword”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenu- (“to bubble forth; brew; spew forth; burn”). Cognate with Scots brand, West Frisian brân (“fire”), Dutch brand, German Brand, Danish brand, Swedish brand (“blaze, fire”), Icelandic brandur, French brand (< Germanic). More distantly cognate with Proto-Slavic *gorěti (“to burn”).
Etymology 2
* As an English, Scottish, north German, Dutch, French, and North Germanic surname, from a Germanic personal name derived from Proto-Germanic *brandaz (“sword, firebrand, torch”), as in the second element of Hildebrand. * Also as a German surname, variant of Brandt. * As a Swedish and Danish surname, from brand (“fire”). * As a Jewish surname, from German Brand (“fire”).