Bracket Meaning
/ˈbɹækɪt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA fixture attached to a wall to hold up a shelf.
nounAny intermediate object that connects a smaller part to a larger part, the smaller part typically projecting sideways from the larger part.
Sentence Examples
In my age bracket, there are no job offers available.
The highest German income tax bracket begins at a relatively low income.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Use a metal ____ to secure the shelf firmly against the wall.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please put the extra information inside a ____ to make it very clear.
Word Origin & History
From earlier bragget, *bracket, from Middle English *braget, *braket (attested in braket nail), from Old French braguette (“the opening in the fore part of a pair of breeches, one's fly”), a diminutive of Old French brague (“knickers, britches”), from Old Occitan braga, from Latin brāca (“pants”), from Transalpine Gaulish *brāca, from Proto-Germanic *brāks, an early form of Proto-Germanic *brōks (“leggings, breeches, trousers”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"To determine if your frame has this bottom bracket type, look for a notched and possibly knurled lockring on the left side (the side without the chainrings)."
— 2005, Todd Downs, The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance & Repair for Road and Mountain bikes, →ISBN:
"Not only does the attachment on the tooth surface (called a bracket) allow the tooth to be moved vertically or tilted, but also a force couple can be generated by the interaction between the bracket and an archwire running through the bracket."
— 2013, Laura Mitchell, An Introduction to Orthodontics, →ISBN, page 220:
"Some villain who knows nothing about it comes into it for money and so the labours of honest mediums get discounted. The public very naturally brackets them all together."
— 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Which Introduces Some Very Physical Phenomena”, in The Land of Mist, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt Company, published 1926, →OCLC, page 158:
"Next, since so much social activity is defined by being bracketed out of the world of ongoing events, it becomes possible that outside such bracketed episodes, […] people are — especially beforehand, but also afterwards — to some extent "out of role", and so off their guard."
— 1992, Tom Burns, Erving Goffman, page 292:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Use a metal ____ to secure the shelf firmly against the wall.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Please put the extra information inside a ____ to make it very clear.