brand

verb

branded; branding; brands

transitive verb

1

: to mark with a brand

2

: to mark with disapproval : stigmatize

he was branded a coward

3

: to impress indelibly

brand the lesson on his mind

brander noun

Synonyms of brand

• etch
• engrave
• imprint

Examples of brand in a Sentence

They no longer brand their cattle.

The exact words my father spoke on my graduation day are branded in my memory.

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead, pluralism, naturally associated with diversity and popular agency, was made into the cultural face of capitalism—it was branded as a false openness mimicking the free market, as a flattening that might cause art and art history to lose the threads of progress and quality. —Katy Siegel, Artforum, 2 June 2026

Oberoi doesn’t brand itself as eco-luxury per se, but the harmony with nature feels real here. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2026

Not to be outshined, Casio G-Shock’s Grogu model branded as the Baby-G comes in a distinctive bright neon-green hue in honor of Din Djarin’s little Force-wielding apprentice. —Jeff Spry, Space.com, 2 June 2026

Another local court case involved two adult Boy Scout troop leaders who, during a camp-out, branded their Scouts on the buttocks with a red-hot coat hanger that had been shaped like male genitals. —Peter Hessler, New Yorker, 31 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing brand

• brand-name
• brand-new
• co-brand
• leading brand
• name-brand
• off-brand
• on-brand
• own-brand
• store-brand

Rhymes for brand

• band
• banned
• bland
• canned
• fanned
• gland
• lande
• mande
• manned
• panned
• planned
• sande

Kids Definition

brand

1 of 2 noun

ˈbrand 

1

: a burnt or burning piece of wood

2

a

: a mark made by burning (as on cattle) to show ownership, maker, or quality

b

: a printed mark made for similar purposes : trademark

3

a

: a mark once put on criminals with a hot iron

b

: a mark of disgrace : stigma

4

a

: a class of goods identified as the product of a single maker

b

: a particular kind : variety

brand

2 of 2 verb

1

: to mark with or as if with a brand

2

: to describe or identify with a word that expresses disapproval

was branded a coward