braces

See also: Braces

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɹeɪsɪz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪsɪz

Noun

braces

1. plural of brace

Noun

A girl in braces (sense 1)

braces pl (plural only)

2. (orthodontics) A device worn on the teeth to straighten them.

   Hyponyms: removable braces, fixed braces

   Susy has to go to the dentist to see if she needs braces.

3. (dated) Handcuffs.

   We put that villain in braces.

4. (chiefly UK) A pair of straps crossing one's shoulders and extending down to one's trousers, where a clip or button arrangement allows them to affix to the trousers, ensuring that they will not fall off.

   Synonym: (US) suspenders

   • 1993 August 27, John Morell, “Brace Yourselves, Guys: Suspenders Are Not Meant to Be Seen”, in Los Angeles Times‎^[1], Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 August 2026:

     Everyone seemed to think the suspender boom would drop like the proverbial fireman’s pants when the ‘80s ended. But here we are in the ‘90s, and suspenders (or “braces,” as they are called in better men’s clothing stores) are still holding up the pants on millions of beltless men. […] [T]oday, many men wearing braces for the first time will move the shoulder straps in a little toward the neck, allowing their braces to peek out from under their jacket.

Synonyms

• (orthodontics): dental braces
• (handcuffs): manacles
• (pair of straps holding trousers): suspenders

Derived terms

• belt and braces
• train track braces

Translations

device for straightening teeth

• Arabic: مُقَوَّم أَسْنَان m (muqawwam ʔasnān)
• Bulgarian: брекети m pl (breketi) (fixed), шини (bg) f pl (šini) (removable), ско́ба (bg) f (skóba) (rare)
• Catalan: ferros (ca) m pl, aparell dental m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 牙箍 (ngaa⁴ ku¹)

  Mandarin: 牙套 (zh) (yátào), 牙齒矯正器 / 牙齿矫正器 (yáchǐ jiǎozhèngqì)

• Czech: rovnátka n pl
• Danish: bøjle (da) c, tandbøjle
• Dutch: beugel (nl)
• Finnish: hammasraudat (fi), raudat (fi)
• French: appareil dentaire (fr) m, appareil (fr) m, appareil orthodontique m, faux-palais (fr)
• German: Zahnspange (de) f
• Hungarian: fogszabályzó (hu)
• Indonesian: kawat gigi, behel (id)
• Inuktitut: ᐋᖅᑭᑦᑎᕈᑏᑦ (aaqkittirotiit)
• Irish: teanntáin fiacla m pl
• Italian: apparecchio (per i denti) m, apparecchio ortodontico m
• Japanese: 歯列矯正器 (しれつきょうせいき, shiretsu kyōseiki), ブレース (burēsu)
• Lithuanian: breketai m pl
• Macedonian: проте́за f (protéza)
• Malay: pendakap gigi
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: шүдний аппарат (šüdnii apparat)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: regulering m or f

• Polish: aparat ortodontyczny, aparat na zęby m
• Portuguese: aparelho (pt) m, aparelho de dente (Brazil)
• Romanian: aparat (ro) n, aparat dentar n
• Russian: бре́кеты m pl (brɛ́kety)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: проте́за f

  Latin: protéza (sh) f

• Spanish: frenillo (es) m, freno (es) m (Latin America), aparato (es) m, ortodoncia (es) f, brackets m pl, aparato dental m, apliques ortodóncicos m pl, apliques dentales m pl, frenillos (es) m pl
• Swedish: tandställning (sv) c
• Tagalog: pabakal
• Thai: เหล็กดัด (lèk-dàt)
• Vietnamese: niềng (răng)
• Welsh: weiren ddanedd f, ffrâm ddannedd f

handcuffs — see handcuffs

pair of straps holding trousers — see suspender

Verb

braces

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of brace

Anagrams

• cabers, cabres

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [ˈbɾa.səs]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈbɾa.ses]

Noun

braces

1. plural of braça

Occitan

Noun

braces

1. plural of braç