brave

adjective \ ˈbrāv \

Definition of brave

braver; bravest

1 :having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty :having or showing courage

a brave soldier

a brave smile

2 :making a fine show :colorful

brave banners flying in the wind

3 :excellent, splendid

the brave fire I soon had going
—J. F. Dobie

—

bravely

adverb

See brave defined for English-language learners

See brave defined for kids

Examples of brave in a Sentence

She gave us a brave smile.
He lost his brave fight against the disease.

Recent Examples of brave from the Web

But that was all verbal, Saturday will finally see the fists fly, and prove whether UFC champion McGregor’s step from the octagon to the ring was brave or foolish.

— martin rogers, The Courier-Journal, "Mayweather vs. McGregor: Fight guide, time, expert preview," 26 Aug. 2017
The Administration pulled out of the Paris agreement, filed an amicus brief undermining the Civil Rights Act, and attacked our brave trans service members.

— caroline hallemann, Town & Country, "Members of Trump's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Have Resigned," 18 Aug. 2017
At this point, someone somewhere has surely put together an intricate flowchart on how all seven of the brave men about to head north of the Wall know one another.

— joanna robinson, vanityfair.com, "Game of Thrones: 8 Easter Eggs and Callbacks You Might Have Missed in “Eastwatch”," 14 Aug. 2017
Their contributions have gone woefully underrecognized in the West — particularly in Britain, where many seem to prefer their tidy myths of a brave little island holding its own against the Nazi menace.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "‘Dunkirk’ and the West’s myopia about World War II," 7 Aug. 2017
Birds, the sole carriers of the dinosaurian legacy, rapidly adapted to the brave new world, too.

— brian switek, Scientific American Blog Network, "A Fossil Bird in the Hand...," 2 Aug. 2017
This AM my brave brother Gary Griffin passed away in palliative care after a brutal struggle w cancer.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "Kathy Griffin shaves her head in solidarity with her sister who has cancer," 1 Aug. 2017
Stuchbery's brave takedown of the white supremacist didn't go unnoticed.

— robert newhouse, Teen Vogue, "British Historian Gives Alt-Right Commentator a History Lesson," 26 July 2017
Be brave in your own skin, own your truth and lead your own path.

— humberto leon, Teen Vogue, "Kenzo Designer Humberto Leon Pens an Open Letter About Identity Politics," 20 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brave.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of brave

borrowed from Medieval French, borrowed from Italian bravo "courageous, wild," perhaps ultimately going back to Latin barbarus barbarous

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1616

See Words from the same year

brave Synonyms

brave

verb

Definition of brave

braved; braving

transitive verb

1 :to face or endure with courage

braved the rush-hour traffic to get there

braving the elements

2 obsolete :to make showy

intransitive verb

archaic :to show courage :to make a brave show

—

braver

noun

See brave defined for English-language learners

Examples of brave in a Sentence

Thousands of fans braved rush-hour traffic to see the concert.
a soldier who braved enemy fire to rescue her wounded comrade

Recent Examples of brave from the Web

Thousands of people marched in the streets Tuesday, braving a tropical storm to protest the Duterte’s drug war.

— j. weston phippen, The Atlantic, "Is This the End of Duterte's Drug War?," 24 Aug. 2017
Boaters sometimes have to brave choppy waters to dive for lobsters during the Florida lobster mini-season.

— andre c. fernandez and david goodhue, miamiherald, "Looking for a lobster dinner? It’s time to catch your own. With some limits," 25 July 2017
On came Holmberg, and the Royals starting barreling baseballs all over the yard, impressing a large crowd that braved the heat and took home Eric Hosmer bobbleheads.

— rustin dodd, kansascity, "Moustakas goes deep twice as Royals power past White Sox 7-2," 22 July 2017
Charlotte and Art lead the family on a daily mile-long walk down the beach at Ocean Park and brave the cold waves to swim.

— m.a.c. lynch, courant.com, "Togetherness, From Teens To Their Old Age," 25 June 2017
The all-wheel-drive, automatic-equipped SportWagen that braved our highway loop outperformed its EPA ratings by 3 mpg.

— annie white, Car and Driver, "2017 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen," 24 June 2017
Thousands of fans braved 116-degree afternoon heat to gather on the south end of the Strip for the unique combination of the awards show and the chance to learn the identities of the home team’s first NHL veterans.

— greg beacham, The Seattle Times, "Fleury leads Vegas Golden Knights’ expansion draft choices," 21 June 2017
Panning for gold or braving a scary bacon adventure? Exploring the depths of manly humor or eating a science experiment?

— karla peterson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "What's wild at the San Diego County Fair," 17 June 2017
The transportation planner flew all the way from Hong Kong, braving a 16-hour flight, to celebrate with his team.

— matthias gafni, The Mercury News, "Around the World: Warriors fan’s 10,000-mile trip to catch parade," 15 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of brave

borrowed from Medieval French braver "to challenge, flout," verbal derivative of brave ¹brave

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1546

See Words from the same year

brave Synonyms

Synonyms

beard, face, brazen, breast, confront, dare, defy, outbrave, outface

Antonyms

dodge, duck, funk, shirk, sidestep

Related Words

face up (to), front; affront; challenge; encounter, meet; accost, approach, corner; repel, resist, stand, withstand; battle, combat, contend (with), fight, oppose, square (off)

Near Antonyms

avoid, eschew, shun; elude, escape, evade, shake

brave

noun

Definition of brave

1 archaic :bravado

[in part borrowed from French, noun derivative of brave ¹brave]

:one with mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty :one who is brave (see ¹brave)

none but the brave deserves the fair
—John Dryden

; specifically :an American Indian warrior

3 archaic :bully, assassin

See brave defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of brave from the Web

Sometimes people tell him he’s brave for speaking openly about it.

— erik brady, USA TODAY, "When athletes share their battles with mental illness," 31 Aug. 2017
There was brave and reassuring talk by the local politicians, who at times like this are supposed to be brave and reassuring.

— joe heim, Washington Post, "Charlottesville hopes to wash away the stains of hate," 13 Aug. 2017
Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave ‘

— Vogue, "The 25 Worst Lies From Donald Trump’s First 200 Days," 27 July 2017
And yet Mexican journalists — brave beyond belief — carry on, risking their lives to tell the truth.

— don winslow, Time, "Don Winslow: Mexican Journalists Risk Death to Tell the Truth," 28 June 2017
ATLANTA (AP) — Braves star Freddie Freeman plans to move from first base to third base to keep Matt Adams’ bat in the Atlanta lineup.

— charles odum, The Seattle Times, "Braves’ Freeman ‘100 percent go’ on moving to third base," 21 June 2017
Giants: Kemp’s walk-off HR in 11th lifts Braves to 5-3 win Matt Kemp hits a two-run homer off Cory Gearrin in the 11th inning to lift Atlanta to a 5-3 win over the Giants on Wednesday night.

— sacbee, sacbee.com, "Sports Night: Cancer survivor set to run," 21 June 2017
There is a place for the brave, face-first brawlers, like Orlando Salido.

— mark whicker, Orange County Register, "Whicker: Andre Ward knows the dangers of boxing’s ring of fire," 19 June 2017
Cal State Fullerton-Oregon State 3 p.m. ESPN MLB: Marlins @ Braves4:10 p.m.

— miamiherald, "Sports on TV: June 17, 2017," 16 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of brave

noun derivative of ¹brave

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1590

See Words from the same year

BRAVE Defined for English Language Learners

brave

adjective

Definition of brave for English Language Learners

: feeling or showing no fear : not afraid

brave

verb

Definition of brave for English Language Learners

: to face or deal with (something dangerous or unpleasant)

brave

noun

Definition of brave for English Language Learners

: a Native American warrior

BRAVE Defined for Kids

brave

adjective \ ˈbrāv \

Definition of brave for Students

braver; bravest

:feeling or showing no fear

—

bravely

adverb

Synonym Discussion of brave

brave, courageous, and bold mean showing no fear. brave is used of a person who has or shows no fear when faced with danger or difficulty.

- The brave crew tried to save the ship.

courageous is used of a person who is always prepared to meet danger or difficulty.

- The early astronauts were courageous in facing the dangers of space travel.

bold is used of a person who welcomes dangerous situations.

- The bold explorers went in search of adventure.

brave

verb

Definition of brave for Students

braved; braving

:to face or handle without fear

brave

noun

Definition of brave for Students

:an American Indian warrior

Learn More about brave

See words that rhyme with brave Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for brave Spanish Central: Translation of brave Nglish: Translation of brave for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of brave for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up brave? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

brave

Definition of brave

bravely

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

Examples of brave in a Sentence

Recent Examples of brave from the Web

Origin and Etymology of brave

brave Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

brave

Definition of brave

braver

Examples of brave in a Sentence

Recent Examples of brave from the Web

Origin and Etymology of brave

brave Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

brave

Definition of brave

Recent Examples of brave from the Web

Origin and Etymology of brave

Phrases Related to BRAVE

Related Phrases

BRAVE Defined for English Language Learners

brave

Definition of brave for English Language Learners

brave

Definition of brave for English Language Learners

brave

Definition of brave for English Language Learners

BRAVE Defined for Kids

brave

Definition of brave for Students

bravely

Synonym Discussion of brave

brave

Definition of brave for Students

brave

Definition of brave for Students

Learn More about brave

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Learned Fools: On Names for Students

Trending: NY Times: Trump's Call Ignites 'Imbroglio'

The Exceptions Quiz III

17 English Words that Come From Japanese

Words of the Year: 1066