Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Brake \Brake\ (br[=a]k),
   imp. of {Break}. [Arhaic] --Tennyson.

Brake \Brake\, n. [OE. brake fern; cf. AS. bracce fern, LG.
   brake willow bush, Da. bregne fern, G. brach fallow; prob.
   orig. the growth on rough, broken ground, fr. the root of E.
   break. See {Break}, v. t., cf. {Bracken}, and 2d {Brake}, n.]
   1. (Bot.) A fern of the genus {Pteris}, esp. the {P.
      aquilina}, common in almost all countries. It has solitary
      stems dividing into three principal branches. Less
      properly: Any fern.

   2. A thicket; a place overgrown with shrubs and brambles,
      with undergrowth and ferns, or with canes.

            Rounds rising hillocks, brakes obscure and rough, To
            shelter thee from tempest and from rain. --Shak.

            He stayed not for brake, and he stopped not for
            stone.                                --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.

   {Cane brake}, a thicket of canes. See {Canebrake}.

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.

   2. An extended handle by means of which a number of men can
      unite in working a pump, as in a fire engine.

   3. A baker's kneading though. --Johnson.

   4. A sharp bit or snaffle.

            Pampered jades . . . which need nor break nor bit.
                                                  --Gascoigne.

   5. A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith
      is shoeing him; also, an inclosure to restrain cattle,
      horses, etc.

            A horse . . . which Philip had bought . . . and
            because of his fierceness kept him within a brake of
            iron bars.                            --J. Brende.

   6. That part of a carriage, as of a movable battery, or
      engine, which enables it to turn.

   7. (Mil.) An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow
      and ballista.

   8. (Agric.) A large, heavy harrow for breaking clods after
      plowing; a drag.

   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.

   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.

   11. A cart or carriage without a body, used in breaking in
       horses.

   12. An ancient instrument of torture. --Holinshed.

   {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}.

Break \Break\, v. t. [imp. {broke}, (Obs. {Brake}); p. p.
   {Broken}, (Obs. {Broke}); p. pr. & vb. n. {Breaking}.] [OE.
   breken, AS. brecan; akin to OS. brekan, D. breken, OHG.
   brehhan, G. brechen, Icel. braka to creak, Sw. braka,
   br["a]kka to crack, Dan. br[ae]kke to break, Goth. brikan to
   break, L. frangere. Cf. {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.

   Note: 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.]

   Note: 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) (Naut.) 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. [Obs.]

   {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.

Source : WordNet®

brake
     v 1: stop travelling by applying a brake; "We had to brake
          suddenly when a chicken crossed the road"
     2: cause to stop by applying the brakes; "brake the car before
        you go into a curve"

brake
     n 1: a restraint used to slow or stop a vehicle
     2: any of various ferns of the genus Pteris having pinnately
        compound leaves and including several popular houseplants
     3: large coarse fern often several feet high; essentially weed
        ferns; cosmopolitan [syn: {bracken}, {pasture brake}, {Pteridium
        aquilinum}]
     4: an area thickly overgrown usually with one kind of plant