Meaning

11 senses

  1. A metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications.

    (countable, uncountable, usually)A memorial or sepulchral tablet usually made of brass or latten: a monumental brass.

    Messing

    лату́ньlatúnʹ

    лату́ньlatúnʹ, мося́жmosjáž

    a memorial made of brass

  2. (countable, uncountable, usually)Fittings, utensils, or other items made of brass.

    an ornament or utensil made of brass

  3. (uncountable, usually)A class of wind instruments, usually made of metal (such as brass), that use vibrations of the player's lips to produce sound; a band or the section of an orchestra that features such instruments.

    A few measures later, the brass comes in strong!

    Blechblasinstrumente, Blech

    ме́дные духовы́е инструме́нтыmédnyje duxovýje instruménty, духово́йduxovój

    the section of a band or orchestra that plays brass instruments

  4. (uncountable, usually)Spent cartridge casings (usually made of brass): the part of the cartridge left over after bullets or shells have been fired.

    ги́льзаgílʹza

  5. (uncountable, usually)The color of brass (etymology 1, noun sense 1).

    Messingfarbe

  6. (metonymically, uncountable, usually)High-ranking officers: the brass hats.

    The brass are not going to like this.

    The brass is not going to like this.

    Generalität

  7. (informal, uncountable, usually)A brave or foolhardy attitude; impudence.

    You've got a lot of brass telling me to do that!

  8. (Northern England, dated, slang, uncountable, usually)Money.

  9. (uncountable, usually)Inferior composition.

  10. (countable, slang, usually)A prostitute.

  11. (historical, obsolete)Synonym of brace, a traditional unit of measure equivalent to a fathom (6 feet) or about 1.6 m, especially as the Spanish braza and Portuguese braça, also French brasse.

Examples

54 sentences

  1. Gold is similar in color to brass.

    Золото схоже за кольором на латунь.

    ruЗолото похоже по цвету на латунь.

    deGold hat eine ähnliche Farbe wie Kupfer.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. The brass band played three marches.

    deDas Blasorchester spielte drei Märsche.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  3. He belongs to the brass band.

    ruОн играет в духовом оркестре.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  4. Tom is in a brass quintet.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  5. The brass band members looked very happy.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · B1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
alloy of copper and zinc:
Русский
By meaning 5
made of brass (attributive use):
alloy of copper and zinc:
class of wind instruments:
related to brass instruments (attributive use):
spent shell casings:
Deutsch
By meaning 5
made of brass (attributive use):
alloy of copper and zinc:
class of wind instruments:
color of brass:
high-ranking military officers:

Origin

From Middle English bras, bres, from Old English bræs (“brass, bronze”), of uncertain orig

From Middle English bras, bres, from Old English bræs (“brass, bronze”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps representing a backformation from Proto-Germanic *brasnaz (“brazen”), from or related to *brasō (“fire, pyre”). Compare Old Norse and Icelandic bras (“solder”), Icelandic brasa (“to harden in the fire”), Swedish brasa (“a small controlled fire”), Danish brase (“to fry”); French braser ("to solder"; > English braise) from the same Germanic root. Compare also Middle Dutch braspenninc ("a silver coin", literally, "silver-penny"; > Dutch braspenning), Old Frisian bress (“copper”), Middle Low German bras (“metal, ore”) and برنج (branj, “brass”)

By ellipsis from brass nail, in turn from "nail[ing]" (fig.) and "brass blonde" (see "brazen"); and also shortened from Cockney Rhyming slang brass flute for "prostitute".

From Portuguese braça and Spanish braza, from Old Galician-Portuguese and Old Spanish braça, from Latin brachia, variant of bracchium (“arm, cubit”), from Ancient Greek βραχίων (brakhíōn, “upper arm”).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: brasses
Singularbrass
Pluralbrasses

regular

Synonyms

16 synonyms
bronzeB1brace
Close in meaning

Word family

56 related words
Relatedbrassy
Derivedadmiralty brassalpha brassantique brassbrass anklebrass-balledbrass ballsbrass bandbrassboardbrassboundbrass buttonbrass ceilingbrass choirbrassed offbrassenbrass farthingbrassfounderbrassfoundingbrass hatbrassiebrass instrumentbrass instrumentalistbrassishbrass-knuckledbrass knuckles

Lessons for this word

1 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
brandybrashbrassicbrassierebrat
brass — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto