What does "brake" mean?

1. (vehicle part) the part of a car, bicycle, or machine that makes it slow down or stop. 2. (a thicket) a small area of land covered with many bushes, trees, or tall ferns. 3. (to slow down) to use the brakes on a vehicle to slow down or stop. 4. (to crush or knead) to crush or break something, like flax or dough, using a tool.

How do you use "brake"?

The verb is often used intransitively.

Is it correct to say "He put his foot on the break."?

No — say "He put his foot on the brake.". Do not confuse 'brake' (to stop) with 'break' (to damage or a pause).

brake

n. · v.

US //ˈbɹeɪk// UK //bɹˈeɪk// brake

1 vehicle part (n.)
A2 Elementary Engineering

the part of a car, bicycle, or machine that makes it slow down or stop.

a mechanical device used to inhibit motion, typically by applying friction to a moving wheel or shaft.

Example

She slammed on the brake when a cat ran across the road.

Example

The cyclist checked his rear brake pads for wear before attempting the steep mountain descent.
- curb
- restraint
- accelerator
- gas pedal
Pitfall

He put his foot on the break.

He put his foot on the brake.

Do not confuse 'brake' (to stop) with 'break' (to damage or a pause).
2 a thicket (n.)
C2 Proficiency Literary

a small area of land covered with many bushes, trees, or tall ferns.

an area of dense growth, typically consisting of briers, bushes, or thickets of ferns.

Example

The deer disappeared into a thick brake of ferns and was gone.

Example

The hunters struggled to navigate the dense cane brake that lined the riverbank, their progress slowed by the tangled vegetation.
- thicket
- brush
- copse

Show 2 more sensesShow fewer

3 to slow down (v.)
A2 Elementary

to use the brakes on a vehicle to slow down or stop.

to reduce the speed of a vehicle or machine by applying a braking mechanism.

Example

You should brake gently when the road is wet and slippery.

Example

The driver was forced to brake hard to avoid a collision after the car in front stopped without warning.

Usage

The verb is often used intransitively.
- decelerate
- slow
- accelerate
- speed up
4 to crush or knead (v.)
C2 Proficiency Archaic Technical Agriculture

to crush or break something, like flax or dough, using a tool.

to bruise, crush, or knead a substance, particularly in the processing of flax or hemp.

Example

The workers had to brake the flax to separate the fibers.

Example

In traditional textile production, the stalks were dried and then braked to release the fibers required for spinning into the spinning process.
- crush
- knead
- pulverise

Etymology 1

Origin uncertain; possibly from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German brake (“nose ring, curb, flax brake”), which according to Watkins is related to sense 4 and from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”).

Etymology 2

Apparently a shortened form of bracken. (Compare chick, chicken.)

Etymology 3

From Old English bracu, attested in a plural compound form fearnbraca (“thickets of fern”), probably from Proto-Germanic brekaną (“to break”) and influenced by sense 2 (“fern”). Compare Middle Low German brake (“stump, branch”).

Etymology 4

Late Middle English, from Middle Low German brake, Dutch braak, Old Dutch braeke; possibly related to sense 1.

Etymology 5

Uncertain.

Etymology 6

Inflected forms.