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Definition of brace : 1. A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension, as a cord on the side of a drum.
2. A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
3. A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks; now rarely applied to persons, except familiarly or with some contempt.
4. A piece of material used to transmit, or change the direction of, weight or pressure; any one of the pieces, in a frame or truss, which divide the structure into triangular parts. It may act as a tie, or as a strut, and serves to prevent distortion of the structure, and transverse strains in its members. A boiler brace is a diagonal stay, connecting the head with the shell.
5. A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
6. A vertical curved line connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be taken together; thus, boll, bowl; or, in music, used to connect staves.
7. Armor for the arm; vantbrace.
8. Harness; warlike preparation.
9. Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
10. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
11. The mouth of a shaft.
12. The state of being braced or tight; tension.
13. To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.
14. To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen; as, to brace the nerves.
15. To furnish with braces; to support; to prop; as, to brace a beam in a building.
16. To get tone or vigor; to rouse one's energies; - with up.
17. To move around by means of braces; as, to brace the yards.
18. To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly; as, he braced himself against the crowd.

Synonyms:

energise, waken, caries, steel, wake up, conjure, ampersand, bracing, stabilize, calm, stabilise, distich, induce, beam, cap, bracer, call forth, spread, perk, invoke, four, be/go on red alert, raise, round, rafter, have, crown, wave, dentistry, percolate, joist, suspender, excite, block, cotton ball, forearm, stir, gaggle, cufflink, foursome, rouse, stanchion, shake, lever, corset, reinforcement, spur, group, community, fire, bolster, have something up your sleeve, bullet point, bevy, cause, perk up, flock, conjure up, duette, becalm, frame, wake, eyelet, crutch, foundation, flight, mainstay, quartet, quintet, splint, get, mates, hive, provoke, duad, extend, make, doubleton, balance, braces, stand by, steady, amalgam, skid, be looking to do something, bullet, ready, genus Gallus, drove, truss, cotton, twain, awaken, reach out, gain vigor, girder, hold up, straddle, close, arm, underpinning, shore up, jack, rush, pairing, pick up, break someone's fall, drawstring, prepared, arouse, scaffold, boom, colony, bend, mount, gallus, prop up, bridge, bitstock, mounting, cane, collar, evoke, bearing, apostrophe, put forward, Band-Aid, stave, steady yourself, call down, fold your arms/hands, pas de deux, bad break, stimulate, come alive, cast, colon, kick, poise, turn on, bring up, cavity, gantry, framework, bear, open, bandage, orthodontic braces, screw up the courage/nerve to do something, shake up, batten down, same, herd, eye, hasten, score, be in business, rib, strut, wind up, shore, cummerbund, kindle, be ripe for something, steel yourself, staff, elicit, comma, compress, stretch, peg, gird, enkindle, bar, sex, awake

couplet, twosome, duo, span, dyad, match, yoke, team, pair, two, couple, doublet, duet

knob, stock, brake, knocker, lug, doorknob, trigger, handle, spindle, pull, shank, crank

energize, buttress, invigorate, fortify, reinforce, prop, toughen, strengthen, empower, enliven, support, vivify, beef up, harden, temper

hasp, cotter, bracket, knitting, stay, anchor, brad, nail, glue, hinge, spike, vinculum, lace, hitch, snap, tie, link, belt, paste, grapnel, hook, cincture, medium, coupling, stitch, fastening, middleman, guy, clinch, fuse, rivet, staple, thread, suture, cleat, connector, string, band, agent, cinch, button, weld, seal, pin, cement, buckle, lock, clasp, twine, hawser, rabbet, binding, ligament, clip, mediator, braid, clamp, fastener, latch, bonding, splice, zipper, closure, binder, bolt, skewer, tack, strap, knot, mucilage, bond, vise, catch, go-between, chain

Usage examples:

• " Let us drink this and brace up and have it out. - "A Daughter of the Vine", Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton.
• Take a brace, now, and don't feel bad. - "Gold Seekers of '49", Edwin L. Sabin.
• Now brace up, and do the best you can, and behave yourself! - "Patty's Suitors", Carolyn Wells.