Braying adjective Making a harsh noise; blaring. " Braying trumpets." Shak.

Braze intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Brazed ; present participle & verbal noun Brazing .] [ French braser to solder, from Icelandic brasa to harden by fire. Confer Brass .]
1. To solder with hard solder, esp. with an alloy of copper and zinc; as, to braze the seams of a copper pipe.

2. To harden. "Now I am brazes to it." Shak.

Braze transitive verb [ Anglo-Saxon bræsian , from bræs brass. See Brass .] To cover or ornament with brass. Chapman.

Brazen adjective [ Middle English brasen , Anglo-Saxon bræsen . See Brass .]
1. Pertaining to, made of, or resembling, brass.

2. Sounding harsh and loud, like resounding brass.

3. Impudent; immodest; shameless; having a front like brass; as, a brazen countenance.

Brazen age . (a) (Myth.) The age of war and lawlessness which succeeded the silver age. (b) (Archæol.) See under Bronze . -- Brazen sea (Jewish Antiq.) , a large laver of brass, placed in Solomon's temple for the use of the priests.

Brazen transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Brazened ; present participle & verbal noun Brazening .] To carry through impudently or shamelessly; as, to brazen the matter through.

Sabina brazened it out before Mrs. Wygram, but inwardly she was resolved to be a good deal more circumspect.
W. Black.

Brazen-browed adjective Shamelessly impudent. Sir T. Browne.

Brazenface noun An impudent or shameless person. "Well said, brazenface; hold it out." Shak.

Brazenfaced adjective Impudent; shameless.

Brazenly adverb In a bold, impudent manner.

Brazenness (brā"z'n*nĕs) noun The quality or state of being brazen. Johnson.

Brazier (brā"zhẽr) noun Same as Brasier .

Brazil nut (Botany) An oily, three-sided nut, the seed of the Bertholletia excelsa ; the cream nut.

» From eighteen to twenty-four of the seed or "nuts" grow in a hard and nearly globular shell.

Brazil wood [ Middle English brasil , Late Latin brasile (cf. Portuguese & Spanish brasil , Pr. bresil , Pr. bresil ); perhaps from Spanish or Portuguese brasa a live coal (cf. Braze , Brasier ); or Arabic vars plant for dyeing red or yellow. This name was given to the wood from its color; and it is said that King Emanuel, of Portugal, gave the name Brazil to the country in South America on account of its producing this wood.]

1. The wood of the oriental Cæsalpinia Sapan ; -- so called before the discovery of America.

2. A very heavy wood of a reddish color, imported from Brazil and other tropical countries, for cabinet-work, and for dyeing. The best is the heartwood of Cæsalpinia echinata , a leguminous tree; but other trees also yield it. An inferior sort comes from Jamaica, the timber of C. Braziliensis and C. crista . This is often distinguished as Braziletto , but the better kind is also frequently so named.

Braziletto noun [ Confer Portuguese & Spanish brasilete , Italian brasiletto .] See Brazil wood .

Brazilian adjective Of or pertaining to Brazil. -- noun A native or an inhabitant of Brazil.

Brazilian pebble . See Pebble , noun , 2.

Brazilin noun [ Confer French brésiline . See Brazil .] (Chemistry) A substance contained in both Brazil wood and Sapan wood, from which it is extracted as a yellow crystalline substance which is white when pure. It is colored intensely red by alkalies. [ Written also brezilin .]

Breach noun [ Middle English breke , breche , Anglo-Saxon brice , gebrice , gebrece (in comp.), from brecan to break; akin to Danish bræk , Middle High German breche , gap, breach. See Break , and confer Brake (the instrument), Brack a break] .
1. The act of breaking, in a figurative sense.

2. Specifically: A breaking or infraction of a law, or of any obligation or tie; violation; non-fulfillment; as, a breach of contract; a breach of promise.

3. A gap or opening made made by breaking or battering, as in a wall or fortification; the space between the parts of a solid body rent by violence; a break; a rupture.

Once more unto the breach , dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
Shak.

4. A breaking of waters, as over a vessel; the waters themselves; surge; surf.

The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters.
2 Sam. v. 20...

A clear breach implies that the waves roll over the vessel without breaking. -- A clean breach implies that everything on deck is swept away. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

5. A breaking up of amicable relations; rupture.

There's fallen between him and my lord
An unkind breach .
Shak.

6. A bruise; a wound.

Breach for breach , eye for eye.
Lev. xxiv. 20...

7. (Medicine) A hernia; a rupture.

8. A breaking out upon; an assault.

The Lord had made a breach upon Uzza.
1. Chron. xiii. 11...

Breach of falth , a breaking, or a failure to keep, an expressed or implied promise; a betrayal of confidence or trust. -- Breach of peace , disorderly conduct, disturbing the public peace. -- Breach of privilege , an act or default in violation of the privilege or either house of Parliament, of Congress, or of a State legislature, as, for instance, by false swearing before a committee. Mozley. Abbott.

Breach transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Breached ; present participle & verbal noun Breaching .] To make a breach or opening in; as, to breach the walls of a city.

Breach intransitive verb To break the water, as by leaping out; -- said of a whale.

Breachy adjective Apt to break fences or to break out of pasture; unruly; as, breachy cattle.

Bread (brĕd) transitive verb [ Anglo-Saxon brǣdan to make broad, to spread. See Broad , adjective ] To spread. [ Obsolete] Ray.

Bread (brĕd) noun [ Anglo-Saxon breád ; akin to OFries. brād , Old Saxon brōd , Dutch brood , German brod , brot , Icelandic brauð , Swedish & Danish bröd . The root is probably that of English brew . √93. See Brew .]
1. An article of food made from flour or meal by moistening, kneading, and baking.

» Raised bread is made with yeast, salt, and sometimes a little butter or lard, and is mixed with warm milk or water to form the dough, which, after kneading, is given time to rise before baking. -- Cream of tartar bread is raised by the action of an alkaline carbonate or bicarbonate (as saleratus or ammonium bicarbonate) and cream of tartar (acid tartrate of potassium) or some acid. -- Unleavened bread is usually mixed with water and salt only.

Aërated bread . See under Aërated . Bread and butter (fig.), means of living. -- Brown bread , Indian bread , Graham bread , Rye and Indian bread . See Brown bread , under Brown . -- Bread tree . See Breadfruit .

2. Food; sustenance; support of life, in general.

Give us this day our daily bread .
Matt. vi. 11

Bread transitive verb (Cookery) To cover with bread crumbs, preparatory to cooking; as, breaded cutlets.

Breadbasket noun The stomach. [ Humorous] S. Foote.

Breadcorn Corn of grain of which bread is made, as wheat, rye, etc.

Breaded adjective Braided [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Breaden adjective Made of bread. [ R.]

Breadfruit noun (Botany)
1. The fruit of a tree ( Artocarpus incisa ) found in the islands of the Pacific, esp. the South Sea islands. It is of a roundish form, from four to six or seven inches in diameter, and, when baked, somewhat resembles bread, and is eaten as food, whence the name.

2. (Botany) The tree itself, which is one of considerable size, with large, lobed leaves. Cloth is made from the bark, and the timber is used for many purposes. Called also breadfruit tree and bread tree .

Breadless adjective Without bread; destitute of food.

Plump peers and breadless bards alike are dull.
P. Whitehead.

Breadroot noun (Botany) The root of a leguminous plant ( Psoralea esculenta ), found near the Rocky Mountains. It is usually oval in form, and abounds in farinaceous matter, affording sweet and palatable food.

» It is the Pomme blanche of Canadian voyageurs.

Breadstuff noun Grain, flour, or meal of which bread is made.

Breadth (brĕdth) noun [ Middle English brede , breede , whence later bredette , Anglo-Saxon brǣdu , from brād broad. See Broad , adjective ]

1. Distance from side to side of any surface or thing; measure across, or at right angles to the length; width.

2. (Fine Arts) The quality of having the colors and shadows broad and massive, and the arrangement of objects such as to avoid to great multiplicity of details, producing an impression of largeness and simple grandeur; -- called also breadth of effect .

Breadth of coloring is a prominent character in the painting of all great masters.
Weale.

Breadthless adjective Without breadth.

Breadthways (-waz) ads. Breadthwise. Whewell.

Breadthwise (-wiz) ads. In the direction of the breadth.

Breadwinner (brĕd"wĭn`nẽr) noun The member of a family whose labor supplies the food of the family; one who works for his living. H. Spencer.

Break (brāk) transitive verb [ imperfect broke (brōk), (Obsolete Brake ); past participle Broken (brō"k'n), (Obsolete Broke ); present participle & verbal noun Breaking .] [ Middle English breken , Anglo-Saxon brecan ; akin to Old Saxon brekan , Dutch breken , Old High German brehhan , German brechen , Icelandic braka to creak, Swedish braka , bräkka to crack, Danish brække to break, Goth. brikan to break, Latin frangere . Confer Bray to pound, Breach , Fragile .]
1. To strain apart; to sever by fracture; to divide with violence; as, to break a rope or chain; to break a seal; to break an axle; to break rocks or coal; to break a lock. Shak.

2. To lay open as by breaking; to divide; as, to break a package of goods.

3. To lay open, as a purpose; to disclose, divulge, or communicate.

Katharine, break thy mind to me.
Shak.

4. To infringe or violate, as an obligation, law, or promise.

Out, out, hyena! these are thy wonted arts . . .
To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray.
Milton

5. To interrupt; to destroy the continuity of; to dissolve or terminate; as, to break silence; to break one's sleep; to break one's journey.

Go, release them, Ariel;
My charms I'll break , their senses I'll restore.

Shak.

6. To destroy the completeness of; to remove a part from; as, to break a set.

7. To destroy the arrangement of; to throw into disorder; to pierce; as, the cavalry were not able to break the British squares.

8. To shatter to pieces; to reduce to fragments.

The victim broke in pieces the musical instruments with which he had solaced the hours of captivity.
Prescott.

9. To exchange for other money or currency of smaller denomination; as, to break a five dollar bill.

10. To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of; as, to break flax.

11. To weaken or impair, as health, spirit, or mind.

An old man, broken with the storms of state.
Shak.

12. To diminish the force of; to lessen the shock of, as a fall or blow.

I'll rather leap down first, and break your fall.
Dryden.

13. To impart, as news or information; to broach; - - with to , and often with a modified word implying some reserve; as, to break the news gently to the widow; to break a purpose cautiously to a friend.

14. To tame; to reduce to subjection; to make tractable; to discipline; as, to break a horse to the harness or saddle. "To break a colt." Spenser.

Why, then thou canst not break her to the lute?
Shak.

15. To destroy the financial credit of; to make bankrupt; to ruin.

With arts like these rich Matho, when he speaks,
Attracts all fees, and little lawyers breaks .
Dryden.

16. To destroy the official character and standing of; to cashier; to dismiss.

I see a great officer broken .
Swift.

With prepositions or adverbs: --

To break down . (a) To crush; to overwhelm; as, to break down one's strength; to break down opposition. (b) To remove, or open a way through, by breaking; as, to break down a door or wall. -- To break in . (a) To force in; as, to break in a door. (b) To train; to discipline; as, a horse well broken in . -- To break of , to rid of; to cause to abandon; as, to break one of a habit. -- To break off . (a) To separate by breaking; as, to break off a twig. (b) To stop suddenly; to abandon. " Break off thy sins by righteousness." Dan. iv. 27. -- To break open , to open by breaking. "Open the door, or I will break it open ." Shak. -- To break out , to take or force out by breaking; as, to break out a pane of glass . -- To break out a cargo , to unstow a cargo, so as to unload it easily. -- To break through . (a) To make an opening through, as, as by violence or the force of gravity; to pass violently through; as, to break through the enemy's lines; to break through the ice. (b) To disregard; as, to break through the ceremony. -- To break up . (a) To separate into parts; to plow (new or fallow ground). " Break up this capon." Shak. " Break up your fallow ground." Jer. iv. 3. (b) To dissolve; to put an end to. " Break up the court." Shak. -- To break (one) all up , to unsettle or disconcert completely; to upset. [ Colloq.]

With an immediate object: --

To break the back . (a) To dislocate the backbone; hence, to disable totally. (b) To get through the worst part of; as, to break the back of a difficult undertaking. -- To break bulk , to destroy the entirety of a load by removing a portion of it; to begin to unload; also, to transfer in detail, as from boats to cars. -- To break cover , to burst forth from a protecting concealment, as game when hunted. -- To break a deer or stag , to cut it up and apportion the parts among those entitled to a share. -- To break fast , to partake of food after abstinence. See Breakfast . -- To break ground . (a) To open the earth as for planting; to commence excavation, as for building, siege operations, and the like; as, to break ground for a foundation, a canal, or a railroad. (b) Fig.: To begin to execute any plan. (c) (Nautical) To release the anchor from the bottom. -- To break the heart , to crush or overwhelm (one) with grief. -- To break a house (Law) , to remove or set aside with violence and a felonious intent any part of a house or of the fastenings provided to secure it. -- To break the ice , to get through first difficulties; to overcome obstacles and make a beginning; to introduce a subject. -- To break jail , to escape from confinement in jail, usually by forcible means. -- To break a jest , to utter a jest. "Patroclus . . . the livelong day breaks scurril jests." Shak. -- To break joints , to lay or arrange bricks, shingles, etc., so that the joints in one course shall not coincide with those in the preceding course. -- To break a lance , to engage in a tilt or contest. -- To break the neck , to dislocate the joints of the neck. -- To break no squares , to create no trouble. [ Obsolete] -- To break a path , road , etc., to open a way through obstacles by force or labor. -- To break upon a wheel , to execute or torture, as a criminal by stretching him upon a wheel, and breaking his limbs with an iron bar; -- a mode of punishment formerly employed in some countries. -- To break wind , to give vent to wind from the anus.

Syn. -- To dispart; rend; tear; shatter; batter; violate; infringe; demolish; destroy; burst; dislocate.

Break (brāk) intransitive verb
1. To come apart or divide into two or more pieces, usually with suddenness and violence; to part; to burst asunder.

2. To open spontaneously, or by pressure from within, as a bubble, a tumor, a seed vessel, a bag.

Else the bottle break , and the wine runneth out.
Math. ix. 17.

3. To burst forth; to make its way; to come to view; to appear; to dawn.

The day begins to break , and night is fled.
Shak.

And from the turf a fountain broke ,
and gurgled at our feet.
Wordsworth.

4. To burst forth violently, as a storm.

The clouds are still above; and, while I speak,
A second deluge o'er our head may break .
Dryden.

5. To open up; to be scattered; to be dissipated; as, the clouds are breaking .

At length the darkness begins to break .
Macaulay.

6. To become weakened in constitution or faculties; to lose health or strength.

See how the dean begins to break ;
Poor gentleman! he droops apace.
Swift.

7. To be crushed, or overwhelmed with sorrow or grief; as, my heart is breaking .

8. To fall in business; to become bankrupt.

He that puts all upon adventures doth oftentimes break , and come to poverty.
Bacn.

9. To make an abrupt or sudden change; to change the gait; as, to break into a run or gallop.

10. To fail in musical quality; as, a singer's voice breaks when it is strained beyond its compass and a tone or note is not completed, but degenerates into an unmusical sound instead. Also, to change in tone, as a boy's voice at puberty.

11. To fall out; to terminate friendship.

To break upon the score of danger or expense is to be mean and narrow-spirited.
Collier.

With prepositions or adverbs: -

To break away , to disengage one's self abruptly; to come or go away against resistance.

Fear me not, man; I will not break away .
Shak.

To break down . (a) To come down by breaking; as, the coach broke down . (b) To fail in any undertaking.

He had broken down almost at the outset.
Thackeray.

-- To break forth , to issue; to come out suddenly, as sound, light, etc. "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning." Isa. lviii. 8;

often with into in expressing or giving vent to one's feelings. " Break forth into singing, ye mountains." Isa. xliv. 23.

To break from , to go away from abruptly.

This radiant from the circling crowd he broke .
Dryden.

-- To break into , to enter by breaking; as, to break into a house. -- To break in upon , to enter or approach violently or unexpectedly. "This, this is he; softly awhile; let us not break in upon him." Milton. -- To break loose . (a) To extricate one's self forcibly. "Who would not, finding way, break loose from hell?" Milton. (b) To cast off restraint, as of morals or propriety. -- To break off . (a) To become separated by rupture, or with suddenness and violence. (b) To desist or cease suddenly. "Nay, forward, old man; do not break off so." Shak. -- To break off from , to desist from; to abandon, as a habit. -- To break out . (a) To burst forth; to escape from restraint; to appear suddenly, as a fire or an epidemic. "For in the wilderness shall waters break out , and stream in the desert." Isa. xxxv. 6 (b) To show itself in cutaneous eruptions; -- said of a disease. (c) To have a rash or eruption on the akin; -- said of a patient. -- To break over , to overflow; to go beyond limits. -- To break up . (a) To become separated into parts or fragments; as, the ice break up in the rivers; the wreck will break up in the next storm. (b) To disperse. "The company breaks up ." I. Watts. -- To break upon , to discover itself suddenly to; to dawn upon. -- To break with . (a) To fall out; to sever one's relations with; to part friendship. "It can not be the Volsces dare break with us." Shak. "If she did not intend to marry Clive, she should have broken with him altogether." Thackeray. (b) To come to an explanation; to enter into conference; to speak. [ Obsolete] "I will break with her and with her father." Shak.

Break (
[ 1913 Webster]) noun [ See Break , transitive verb , and confer Brake (the instrument), Breach , Brack a crack.]
1. An opening made by fracture or disruption.

2. An interruption of continuity; change of direction; as, a break in a wall; a break in the deck of a ship. Specifically: (a) (Architecture) A projection or recess from the face of a building. (b) (Electricity) An opening or displacement in the circuit, interrupting the electrical current.

3. An interruption; a pause; as, a break in friendship; a break in the conversation.

4. An interruption in continuity in writing or printing, as where there is an omission, an unfilled line, etc.

All modern trash is
Set forth with numerous breaks and dashes.
Swift.

5. The first appearing, as of light in the morning; the dawn; as, the break of day; the break of dawn.

6. A large four-wheeled carriage, having a straight body and calash top, with the driver's seat in front and the footman's behind.

7. A device for checking motion, or for measuring friction. See Brake , noun 9 & 10.

8. (Teleg.) See Commutator .

Break-circuit noun (Electricity) A key or other device for breaking an electrical circuit.

Breakable adjective Capable of being broken.

Breakage noun
1. The act of breaking; a break; a breaking; also, articles broken.

2. An allowance or compensation for things broken accidentally, as in transportation or use.

Breakaway noun [ Break + away ] [ Australasia]
1. A wild rush of sheep, cattle, horses, or camels (especially at the smell or the sight of water); a stampede.

2. An animal that breaks away from a herd.

Breakbone fever (Medicine) See Dengue .

Breakdown noun
1. The act or result of breaking down, as of a carriage; downfall.

2. (a) A noisy, rapid, shuffling dance engaged in competitively by a number of persons or pairs in succession, as among the colored people of the Southern United States, and so called, perhaps, because the exercise is continued until most of those who take part in it break down . (b) Any rude, noisy dance performed by shuffling the feet, usually by one person at a time. [ U.S.]

Don't clear out when the quadrilles are over, for we are going to have a breakdown to wind up with.
New Eng. Tales.

Breaker noun
1. One who, or that which, breaks.

I'll be no breaker of the law.
Shak.

2. Specifically: A machine for breaking rocks, or for breaking coal at the mines; also, the building in which such a machine is placed.

3. (Nautical) A small water cask. Totten.

4. A wave breaking into foam against the shore, or against a sand bank, or a rock or reef near the surface.

The breakers were right beneath her bows.
Longfellow.

Breakfast noun [ Break + fast .]
1. The first meal in the day, or that which is eaten at the first meal.

A sorry breakfast for my lord protector.
Shak.

2. A meal after fasting, or food in general.

The wolves will get a breakfast by my death.
Dryden.

Breakfast intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle breakfasted ; present participle & verbal noun Breakfasting .] To break one's fast in the morning; too eat the first meal in the day.

First, sir, I read, and then I breakfast .
Prior.

Breakfast transitive verb To furnish with breakfast. Milton.

Breakman noun See Brakeman .