Translate bracket | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish Definition of bracket
noun
1each of a pair of marks [ ] used to enclose words or figures so as to separate them from the context:symbols are given in brackets
2 [with adjective or noun modifier] a category of people or things that are similar or fall between specified limits:those in a high income bracket
3a right-angled support attached to and projecting from a wall for holding a shelf, lamp, or other object.
4 Military the distance between two artillery shots fired either side of the target to establish range.
verb (brackets, bracketing, bracketed)
[with object] 1enclose (words or figures) in brackets: (as adjective bracketed)the relevant data are included as bracketed points Mathematics enclose (a complex expression) in brackets to denote that the whole of the expression rather than just a part of it has a particular relation, such as multiplication or division, to another expression. put (a belief or matter) aside temporarily:he bracketed off the question of God
2place (one or more people or things) in the same category or group:he is sometimes bracketed with the “new wave” of film directors
3hold or attach (something) by means of a right-angled support:pipes should be bracketed
4 Military establish the range of (a target) by firing two preliminary shots, one short of the target and the other beyond it. Photography establish (the correct exposure) by taking several pictures with slightly more or less exposure.
