Brake :: Brake (n.) A fern of the genus Pteris, esp. the P. aquilina, common in almost all countries. It has solitary stems dividing into three principal branches. Less properly: Any fern..
Brake :: Brake (n.) A thicket; a place overgrown with shrubs and brambles, with undergrowth and ferns, or with canes..
Brake :: Brake (v. t.) An instrument or machine to break or bruise the woody part of flax or hemp so that it may be separated from the fiber.
Brake :: Brake (v. t.) An extended handle by means of which a number of men can unite in working a pump, as in a fire engine..
Brake :: Brake (v. t.) A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith is shoeing him; also, an inclosure to restrain cattle, horses, etc..
Brake :: Brake (v. t.) That part of a carriage, as of a movable battery, or engine, which enables it to turn..
Brake :: Brake (v. t.) An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista.
Brake :: Brake (v. t.) A large, heavy harrow for breaking clods after plowing; a drag..
Brake :: Brake (v. t.) A piece of mechanism for retarding or stopping motion by friction, as of a carriage or railway car, by the pressure of rubbers against the wheels, or of clogs or ratchets against the track or roadway, or of a pivoted lever against a wheel or drum in a machine..
Brake :: Brake (v. t.) An apparatus for testing the power of a steam engine, or other motor, by weighing the amount of friction that the motor will overcome; a friction brake..
Brake :: Brake (v. t.) A cart or carriage without a body, used in breaking in horses..
Brake :: Brake (v. t.) An ancient instrument of torture.