brake beam

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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