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1. Prepare (oneself), often but not necessarily for something unpleasant or difficult
   - poise
    
2. Support or hold steady and make steadfast, with or as if with a brace
   "brace your elbows while working on the potter's wheel";
   - steady, stabilize, stabilise [Brit]
    
3. Support by bracing
    
4. Cause to be alert and energetic
   "Coffee and tea brace me";
   - stimulate, arouse, energize, energise [Brit], perk up

1. A support that steadies or strengthens something else
   "he wore a brace on his knee"
    
2. Two items of the same kind
   - couple, pair, twosome, twain, span, yoke, couplet, distich, duo, duet, dyad, duad
    
3. A set of two similar things considered as a unit
   - pair
    
4. Either of two punctuation marks ({ or }) used to enclose textual material
    
5. A rope on a square-rigged ship that is used to swing a yard about and secure it
    
6. [Brit] Elastic straps that hold trousers up
   - suspender, gallus [US]
    
7. An appliance that corrects dental irregularities
   - braces, orthodontic braces
    
8. A carpenter's tool having a crank handle for turning and a socket to hold a bit for boring
   - bitstock
    
9. A structural member used to stiffen a framework
   - bracing

Derived forms: bracing, braced, braces

Type of: 2, affect, beef up, dental appliance, deuce, fix, fortify, gear up, hold, hold up, II, man's clothing, prepare, punctuation, punctuation mark [Brit], ready, reinforcement, rope, set, set up, stock, strengthen, strengthener, structural member, support, sustain, two

Antonym: de-energize

Part of: brace and bit, frame, framework

Encyclopedia: Brace, Peter