brass.
A metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications.
Meaning & usage
A metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications. A memorial or sepulchral tablet usually made of brass or latten: a monumental brass.
A metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications. Fittings, utensils, or other items made of brass.
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!
Spent cartridge casings (usually made of brass): the part of the cartridge left over after bullets or shells have been fired.
The color of brass (etymology 1, noun sense 1).
High-ranking officers: the brass hats.
The brass are not going to like this.
The brass is not going to like this.
A brave or foolhardy attitude; impudence.
You've got a lot of brass telling me to do that!
Money.
Inferior composition.
Where this word comes from
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”) In the military sense an ellipsis of the brass hats.
Made of brass, of or pertaining to brass.
Of the color of brass.
Impertinent, bold: brazen.
Bad, annoying; as wordplay applied especially to brass instruments.
Of inferior composition.
Where this word comes from
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”) In the military sense an ellipsis of the brass hats.
To coat with brass.
Where this word comes from
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”) In the military sense an ellipsis of the brass hats.
A prostitute.
Where this word comes from
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".
Brass monkey; cold.
Where this word comes from
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".
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.
Where this word comes from
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”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.