1
: an overhanging member that projects from a structure (such as a wall) and is usually designed to support a vertical load or to strengthen an angle
2
: a fixture (as for holding a lamp) projecting from a wall or column
3
a
: one of a pair of marks [ ] used in writing and printing to enclose matter or in mathematics and logic as signs of aggregation
called also square bracket
b
: one of the pair of marks 〈 〉 used to enclose matter
called also angle bracket
d
4
: a section of a continuously numbered or graded series (such as age ranges or income levels)
5
: a pairing of opponents in an elimination tournament
bracketed; bracketing; brackets
1
a
: to place within or as if within brackets
editorial comments are bracketed
news stories bracketed by commercials
b
: to eliminate from consideration
bracket off politics
c
: to extend around so as to encompass : include
test pressures … which bracket virtually the entire range of passenger-car tire pressures—
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports2
: to furnish or fasten with brackets
3
: to put in the same category or group
bracketed in a tie for third
4
a
: to get the range on (a target) by firing over and short
b
: to establish the limits of
bracketed the problem neatly
c
: to take photographs of at more than one exposure in order to ensure that the desired exposure is obtained
Synonyms
Examples of bracket in a Sentence
Noun
The shelf is held up with two brackets.
There are wall brackets in the garage for the rakes and shovels.
She is taller than average for her age bracket.
He earned enough to put him in a higher tax bracket.
She is now in a lower income bracket than before.
Verb
I wouldn't exactly bracket your paintings with those of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
Recent Examples on the WebJill Schlesinger, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
Most events are broken down into men's and women's divisions and age brackets of five years each.
—April Wallace, arkansasonline.com, 4 Apr. 2024
Yes, this bracket has and will continue to deliver heartbreak.
—The Indianapolis Star, 4 Apr. 2024
After 31 days in the trenches of Gizmodo’s March Madness bracket challenge, Google Maps has emerged victorious!
—Rhett Jones / Gizmodo, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
College basketball fans can print their own brackets and make predictions ahead of the tournament.
—Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
If the family income falls from a higher tax bracket to a lower one, for instance, the parent who continues working will likely not need to have as much withheld in payroll taxes and thus may bring home a bigger paycheck.
—Mia Taylor, Parents, 29 Mar. 2024
The 6-foot-4 USC forward just walked by a bracket printed on a poster that stood taller than her head.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
His bargaining chip: re-establishing income tax brackets that would give provincial governors much needed budget breathing room in a critical economic context.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Manuela Tobias, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024
So bracket your exposures during totality across a wide range of shutter speeds to capture the full dynamic range of the scene.
—Michael E. Bakich, Discover Magazine, 24 Feb. 2024
The prospect of ground battles in the city, which is bracketed by a closed Egyptian border and invading Israeli forces, has created worldwide alarm over the risks to civilians who have nowhere else to flee.
—Hiba Yazbek, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024
Archaeologists dated the White Sands footprints thanks to grass seeds trapped in the layers of clay and silt above and below the tracks, which helped bracket their possible age.
—Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 10 July 2023
The Rams’ final stretch is bracketed by big challenges: at Baltimore and a road finale against San Francisco.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2023
The film’s least gentle aspect is the script, which hints several times that someone has plunged or will plunge from a roof or balcony, and which is bracketed by both the opening conflagration and a monsoon that drenches the story’s multiple conclusions.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2023
And the abstract minimalism of the Museo Experimental el Eco, built in the 1950s by the celebrated artist and designer Mathias Goeritz, brackets San Rafael's south.
—Michael Snyder, Travel + Leisure, 27 Nov. 2023
Spain’s picturesque Ribera del Duero wine region, one of the nation’s leading producers of fine vintages, is located on a high plain that brackets the Douro River.
—Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 5 Aug. 2023
Noun
RMDs can often keep people in high tax brackets later in life and can also trigger extra costs for Medicare.
—Jill Schlesinger, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024
Most events are broken down into men's and women's divisions and age brackets of five years each.
—April Wallace, arkansasonline.com, 4 Apr. 2024
Yes, this bracket has and will continue to deliver heartbreak.
—The Indianapolis Star, 4 Apr. 2024
After 31 days in the trenches of Gizmodo’s March Madness bracket challenge, Google Maps has emerged victorious!
—Rhett Jones / Gizmodo, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
College basketball fans can print their own brackets and make predictions ahead of the tournament.
—Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
If the family income falls from a higher tax bracket to a lower one, for instance, the parent who continues working will likely not need to have as much withheld in payroll taxes and thus may bring home a bigger paycheck.
—Mia Taylor, Parents, 29 Mar. 2024
The 6-foot-4 USC forward just walked by a bracket printed on a poster that stood taller than her head.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
His bargaining chip: re-establishing income tax brackets that would give provincial governors much needed budget breathing room in a critical economic context.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Verb
Ministers are expected to try and bracket off some of the contentious topics in order to stop them from swamping other matters.
—Manuela Tobias, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024
So bracket your exposures during totality across a wide range of shutter speeds to capture the full dynamic range of the scene.
—Michael E. Bakich, Discover Magazine, 24 Feb. 2024
The prospect of ground battles in the city, which is bracketed by a closed Egyptian border and invading Israeli forces, has created worldwide alarm over the risks to civilians who have nowhere else to flee.
—Hiba Yazbek, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024
Archaeologists dated the White Sands footprints thanks to grass seeds trapped in the layers of clay and silt above and below the tracks, which helped bracket their possible age.
—Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 10 July 2023
The Rams’ final stretch is bracketed by big challenges: at Baltimore and a road finale against San Francisco.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2023
The film’s least gentle aspect is the script, which hints several times that someone has plunged or will plunge from a roof or balcony, and which is bracketed by both the opening conflagration and a monsoon that drenches the story’s multiple conclusions.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2023
And the abstract minimalism of the Museo Experimental el Eco, built in the 1950s by the celebrated artist and designer Mathias Goeritz, brackets San Rafael's south.
—Michael Snyder, Travel + Leisure, 27 Nov. 2023
Spain’s picturesque Ribera del Duero wine region, one of the nation’s leading producers of fine vintages, is located on a high plain that brackets the Douro River.
—Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 5 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bracket.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to bracket
Dictionary Entries Near bracket
Cite this Entry
“Bracket.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bracket. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bracket
1 of 2 noun
brack·et
ˈbrak-ət 
1
: a support for a shelf or other weight usually attached to a wall
2
: a short wall shelf
3
a
: one of a pair of marks [ ] used to enclose words or mathematical symbols to be taken together
called also square bracket
b
: one of a pair of marks 〈 〉
—used to enclose written or printed matter
called also angle bracket
4
: class entry 1 sense 3a, group
especially
: one of a series of groups sorted according to income
5
: a pairing of opponents in an elimination tournament
bracket
2 of 2 verb1
: to place within or as if within brackets
2
: to put into the same class : associate
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share