Webster's English Dictionary

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brake

1. brake \'bra-k\  archaic past of BREAK 
2. brake \'bra-k\ n [ME, fern] : any of a genus (Pteridium) of tall ferns 
   with ternately compound f ronds
3. brake n [ME, fr. MLG; akin to OE brecan to break] 1: a toothed 
   instrument or machine for separating out the fiber of flax or  hemp by 
   breaking up the woody parts 2: a machine for bending, flanging, folding, 
   and forming sheet metal 
4. brake \'bra--kl*s\ n [ME] 1: a device for arresting the motion of a 
   mechanism usu. employing friction  2: something used to slow down or stop 
   movement or activity  - brake.less aj
5. brake vt : to retard or stop by or as if by a brake  1: to operate or 
   manage a brake; esp : to apply the brake on a veh icle 2: to become checked 
   by a brake 
6. brake \'bra--ke-\ n [ME -brake] : rough or marshy land overgrown usu. 
   with one kind of plant  - braky aj