from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Brake \Brake\ (br[=a]k), n. [OE. brake; cf. LG. brake an
instrument for breaking flax, G. breche, fr. the root of E.
break. See Break, v. t., and cf. {Breach}.]
1. An instrument or machine to break or bruise the woody part
of flax or hemp so that it may be separated from the
fiber.
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2. An extended handle by means of which a number of men can
unite in working a pump, as in a fire engine.
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3. A baker's kneading though. --Johnson.
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4. A sharp bit or snaffle.
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Pampered jades . . . which need nor break nor bit.
--Gascoigne.
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5. A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith
is shoeing him; also, an inclosure to restrain cattle,
horses, etc.
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A horse . . . which Philip had bought . . . and
because of his fierceness kept him within a brake of
iron bars. --J. Brende.
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6. That part of a carriage, as of a movable battery, or
engine, which enables it to turn.
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7. (Mil.) An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow
and ballista.
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8. (Agric.) A large, heavy harrow for breaking clods after
plowing; a drag.
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9. 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.
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10. (Engin.) 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.
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11. A cart or carriage without a body, used in breaking in
horses.
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12. An ancient instrument of torture. --Holinshed.
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{Air brake}. See {Air brake}, in the Vocabulary.
{Brake beam} or {Brake bar}, the beam that connects the brake
blocks of opposite wheels.
{Brake block}.
(a) The part of a brake holding the brake shoe.
(b) A brake shoe.
{Brake shoe} or {Brake rubber}, the part of a brake against
which the wheel rubs.
{Brake wheel}, a wheel on the platform or top of a car by
which brakes are operated.
{Continuous brake} . See under {Continuous}.
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