Brag Meaning
/bɹæɡ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA boast or boasting; bragging; ostentatious pretence or self-glorification.
nounThe thing which is boasted of.
Sentence Examples
His work shows nothing to brag about.
The urge to brag on his recent successes was irresistible.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He would always ____ about his expensive car even though no one asked.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He likes to ____ about how fast he can run compared to his friends.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English braggen (“to make a loud noise; to speak boastfully”) of uncertain origin. Possibly related to the Middle English adjective brag (“prideful; spirited”), which is probably of Celtic origin; or from Old Norse bragr (“best; foremost; poetry”); or through Old English from Old Norse braka (“to creak”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Caesar […] made not here his brag / Of "came", and "saw", and "overcame"."
— 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
"Beauty is Nature's brag."
— 1634 October 9 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC:
"You could just use ordinary shop-bought kecap manis to marinade the meat, but making your own is easy, has a far more elegant fragrance and is, above all, such a great brag! Flavouring kecap manis is an intensely personal thing, so try this version now and next time cook the sauce down with crushed, split lemongrass and a shredded lime leaf."
— 2015 October 27, Matt Preston, The Simple Secrets to Cooking Everything Better, Plum, →ISBN, page 192:
"Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, / Brags of his substance, not of ornament. / Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade"
— c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vi]:
"The dead mans corps hath made ſome Serpents weépe, / Such rewth may ryſe in beaſts of bloudy race: / And yet can man (which bragges aboue the reſt) / Uſe wracke for rewth? can murder like him beſt?"
— 1575, Jacques du Fouilloux, “The Hare, to the Hunter”, in George Gascoigne, transl., The Noble Art of Venerie or Hunting. […], London: […] Thomas Purfoot, published 1611, →OCLC, page 177:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He would always ____ about his expensive car even though no one asked.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He likes to ____ about how fast he can run compared to his friends.