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Consistency; thickness; substance; strength; as, this color has body; wine of a good body.

A rope stitched to the edges of a sail to strengthen the sail.

d the lower edge of the upper slate. -- Bond timber, timber worked into a wall to tie or strengthen it longitudinally.

ch is resisted by a tie forming a chord of the arch. -- Bowstring girder, an arched beam strengthened by a tie connecting its two ends. -- Bowstring hemp (Bot.), the tenacious fiber of the Sanseviera Zeylanica, growing in India and Africa, from which bowstrings are made. Balfour.

To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen; as, to brace the nerves. And welcome war to brace her drums. Campbell.

Imparting strength or tone; strengthening; invigorating; as, a bracing north wind.

projecting from, or fastened to, a wall, or other surface, to support heavy bodies or to strengthen angles.

Full, strong muscles, esp. of the arm or leg, muscular strength; a protuberant muscular part of the body; sometimes, the arm. Brawn without brains is thine. Dryden. It was ordained that murderers should be brent on the brawn of the left hand. E. Hall. And in my vantbrace put this withered brawn. Shak.…

To destroy the strength, firmness, or consistency of; as, to break flax.

A thick piece of timber in the form of a knee, placed across the stem of a ship to strengthen the fore part and unite the bows on each side. Totten.

Fig.: That which gives or strengthens life. The earthquake voice of victory, To thee the breath of life. Byron.

o, a molded sample of solidified cement or mortar for use as a test piece for showing the strength of the material.

The heat, or utmost violence, of an onset; the strength or greatest fury of any contention; as, the brunt of a battle.

A small, hollow, floating bead or globe, formerly used for testing the strength of spirits.

To strengthen with buckram; to make stiff. Cowper.

To increase and strengthen; to increase the power and stability of; to settle, or establish, and preserve; -- frequently with up; as, to build up one's constitution. I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up. Acts xx. 32.

paper; a bundle of old clothes. The fable of the rods, which, when united in a bundle, no strength could bend. Goldsmith. Bundle pillar (Arch.), a column or pier, with others of small dimensions attached to it. Weale.

Anything which supports or strengthens. "The ground pillar and buttress of the good old cause of nonconformity." South. Flying buttress. See Flying buttress.

A pole or beam used in Scottish games for tossing as a trial of strength.

The science, art, or practice of healthful exercise of the body and limbs, to promote strength and gracefulness; light gymnastics.