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brace and bit

brace and bit

8.4
A hand tool that you turn to make holes in wood with a drill bit
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : broca manual
  • My grandfather showed me how to use a brace and bit to drill holes in the wood.

Examples

  • The old carpenter still kept his brace and bit beside his modern power tools.

  • He used a brace and bit to make the hole.

  • Before electric drills, people relied on the brace and bit for woodworking tasks.

  • The carpenter prefers the brace and bit over electric drills.

  • Using a brace and bit, he drilled precise holes into the wooden beam.

  • The carpenter chose a brace and bit for the delicate work on the antique furniture.

  • A brace and bit is essential for anyone who enjoys traditional woodworking techniques.

Synonyms

brace
vsbrace and bit
  • Archaic
8 7.2

A hand tool with a crank for drilling holes in wood

is the assembled tool that includes the handle plus the rotating cutting piece
hand drill
vsbrace and bit
1 3.0

A small tool you turn by hand to make holes in wood or other materials

uses a crank turning handle that specifically holds and rotates a cutting piece
bitstock
vsbrace and bit
  • Archaic
9.9

A hand tool with a crank that holds and turns a drill bit to make holes in wood

is the broader tool used for drilling in various materials not only wood

How Powerful

drill press
  • Specialized
2 5.8
power drill
4 2.8
auger
1 7.3
brace and bit
  • Archaic
8.4
gimlet
9.3

Surface Forms

brace and bit singular

Morphology

brace + and + bit

The phrase names a tool composed of the two known parts: a 'brace' (crank-handled tool) and a 'bit' (the cutting part). The meaning is directly compositional and signalled by the coordinating 'and', a common, cross-linguistic nominal combination, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Brace and bit is an old hand tool used for making holes in wood. It got its name because a turning handle called a brace holds a sharp metal bit that you turn to 'drill holes', so the name describes the tool.