Brace

a brace and bit

The little bones of the ear drum do in straining and relaxing it as the braces of the war drum do in that.

And I am of opinion, that the moſt frequent cauſe of Deafneſs is to be attributed to the Laxneſs of the Tympanum, vvhen it has loſt its Brace or Tenſion by ſome irregularity in the Figure of thoſe Bones, or defect in that Muſcle: […]

’Tis a Pageant / To keepe vs in falſe gaze, when we conſider / Th’importancie of Cyprus to the Turke; / And let our ſelues againe but vnderſtand, / That as it more concerne the Turke then Rhodes, / So may he with more facile queſtion beare it, / For that it ſtands not in ſuch Warrelike brace, / But altogether lackes th’abilities / That Rhodes is dreſs’d in.

But you, my brace of Lords, were I ſo minded / I heere could plucke his Highneſſe frowne vpon you / And iuſtifie you Traitors: […]

A brace of brethren, both bishops, both eminent for learning and religion, now appeared in the church; […]

He is ſaid, this ſummer to have ſhot with his own hands fifty brace of pheaſants, and one wild pig; to have ſet thirty coveys of partridges; and to have hunted down forty brace of hares; […]

"Are you a prime shot?" said Richard. / Ripton nodded knowingly, and answered, "Pretty good." / "Then we'll have a dozen brace apiece to-day," said Richard.

There were four of us,—my friend the captain, myself, an old sportsman from Sognedale, called Peter Sandaker, and a smart boy, who had charge of two brace of hounds.

He had had a good day, for several brace of wild fowl hung from his shoulder, and he appeared tired.

Coordinate term: hat trick

The Manchester United midfielder’s late brace against Cyprus at the weekend was welcome, but will become no more than a footnote of his Scotland career. His brace here to down the mighty Spanish will go down in history.

To score a 'brace' means that you have scored two goals in a game.

All hands, brace for impact!

Brace yourself!

The boy has no idea about everything that's been going on. You need to brace him for what's about to happen.

Bradford would have been braced for an early assault from Villa as they tried to cut the deficit - and so it proved as they struggled to control the physical presence and aerial threat of Benteke, who headed straight at Bradford keeper Matt Duke when he should have done better.

He braced himself against the crowd.

A sturdy lance in his right hand he braced.

to brace the yards

Just about then the young kid who had braced us when we came in uttered a curse and made for the door.

“Constable Fancy’s collecting evidence from his flat while Morse and me brace Valdemar.”

to brace a beam in a building

to brace the nerves

And welcome war to brace her drums.

The women of China[…], by bracing and binding them [their feet] from their infancy, have very little feet.

some who spurs had first braced on