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Definition of brake : 1. A baker's kneading though.
2. A cart or carriage without a body, used in breaking in horses.
3. 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.
4. A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith is shoeing him; also, an inclosure to restrain cattle, horses, etc.
5. A large, heavy harrow for breaking clods after plowing; a drag.
6. 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.
7. A sharp bit or snaffle.
8. A thicket; a place overgrown with shrubs and brambles, with undergrowth and ferns, or with canes.
9. An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista.
10. An ancient instrument of torture.
11. 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.
12. An extended handle by means of which a number of men can unite in working a pump, as in a fire engine.
13. An instrument or machine to break or bruise the woody part of flax or hemp so that it may be separated from the fiber.
14. imp. of Break.
15. That part of a carriage, as of a movable battery, or engine, which enables it to turn.

Synonyms:

automatic, expanding, emergency, friction, disk, ratchet, disc, governor, four-wheel, parking, webbing, contracting, leash, power ABS, bracken, hydraulic, band, snaffle, pawl, compressed air, anti-lock braking system, pasture brake, retarding device, bit, hand, bridle, discouragement, Pteridium aquilinum, drum

dashboard, shock absorber, accelerator, hood, horn, clutch, spark plug, ignition, distributor, crankshaft, camshaft, windshield, generator, gearbox, cowl, bearings, exhaust, differential, cylinder, bumper, headlights, carburetor, chassis, glove compartment, steering wheel, fender, choke, manifold, connecting rod, taillights, piston, radiator, transmission, muffler, gearshift, crankcase, fan, odometer, speedometer, gear

curb, restrain, fetter, mire, entangle, bung, crimp, drag, constipate, snarl, oppose, burden, complicate, congest, restrict, hamstring, impede, constrain, deter, encumber, foul, stop, clog, impair, inhibit, dam, resist, jam, plug, cramp, baffle, catch, obstruct, hamper, snag, interrupt, paralyze, detain, stay, counter, check, block, delay, entrap, frustrate, hinder, handicap, thwart, bottleneck, cripple, tangle, bar

disadvantage, blockade, blockage, bafflement, complication, entrapment, damper, impediment, constraint, deterrent, impedance, encumbrance, hurdle, frustration, inhibition, congestion, restriction, impasse, restraint, interruption, entanglement, resistance, hindrance, opposition, constipation, obstruction, drawback, barrier, stoppage, obstacle

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

Usage examples:

• The soft hat of the brake- rider was now pulled down over his eyes, and his chin was hidden in the upturned collar of his tattered coat. - "Out of the Primitive", Robert Ames Bennet.
• He gathered up the reins, sitting, erect and spare, with one foot on the brake, while the brown horses plunged impatiently, and the volunteers found their work cut out in holding them. - "Back To Billabong", Mary Grant Bruce.
• The car runs to the edge of the cliff; the schooner anchors under the shipping stage one hundred feet below, and the lumber is slid down to her, a man standing at the lower end to check its too rapid descent with a kind of brake. - "Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands", Charles Nordhoff.