bracket

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Singular bracket

Plural brackets

Different kinds of brackets

1. (countable) A tax, income, or age bracket is a set of values with a bottom limit and a top limit or a group of people who fit between the limits.

   In the 25 to 29 age bracket, 43 percent of men and 29 percent of women had never married.

   Investors in the 28% tax bracket (taxable income between $32,450 and $46,200 a year) will pay less tax next year.

2. (countable) (usually plural) A bracket is a punctuation mark used to set off extra information. The basic shape is round, like this: ( ), but the following are also brackets: [ ], { }, < >.

   Weight is given in kilograms, while numbers in brackets show weight in pounds.

   A common error in writing computer code is to forget to close your brackets.

3. (countable) A bracket is one of a wide variety of pieces, usually metal, wood, or plastic that are used to support or connect machines or materials. Commonly brackets are L-shaped.

• 
  A wooden bracket supporting a shelf

Related words

• bottom bracket

Verb

Plain form bracket

Third-person singular brackets

Past tense bracketed

Past participle bracketed

Present participle bracketing

1. (transitive); (usually passive) If $x$ is bracketed by $y$, $x$ is between $y$.

   Her desk was bracketed by bookcases.

2. (transitive); (usually passive) If two things are bracketed together, they are put together in the same group.