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To reach or impinge against the bottom, so as to impede free action, as when the point of a cog strikes the bottom of a space between two other cogs, or a piston the end of a cylinder.

r to make a sudden noise; a knock loudly. Another bounces as hard as he can knock. Swift. Against his bosom bounced his heaving heart. Dryden.

To combine against (a landlord, tradesman, employer, or other person), to withhold social or business relations from him, and to deter others from holding such relations; to subject to a boycott.

To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly; as, he braced himself against the crowd. A sturdy lance in his right hand he braced. Fairfax.

stopping motion by friction, as of a carriage or railway car, by the pressure of rubbers against the wheels, or of clogs or ratchets against the track or roadway, or of a pivoted lever against a wheel or drum in a machine.

A wave breaking into foam against the shore, or against a sand bank, or a rock or reef near the surface. The breakers were right beneath her bows. Longfellow.

st drill, a portable drilling machine, provided with a breastplate, for forcing the drill against the work. -- Breast pang. See Angina pectoris, under Angina. -- To make a clean breast, to disclose the secrets which weigh upon one; to make full confession.

The interior slope of a fortification, against which the garnison lean in firing.

A piece against which the workman presses his breast in operating a breast drill, or other similar tool.

e Anglo-Saxon chieftains who was chosen by the other chiefs to lead them in their warfare against the British tribes. Brande & C.

judge, witness, voter, or other person in a position of trust. Undue reward for anything against justice is a bribe. Hobart.

gages in or promotes noisy quarrels. What doth he but turn broiler, . . . make new libels against the church Hammond.

ng to money. -- Insurance broker, one who is agent in procuring insurance on vessels, or against fire. -- Pawn broker. See Pawnbroker. -- Real estate broker, one who buys and sells lands, and negotiates loans, etc., upon mortgage. -- Ship broker, one who acts as agent in buying and selling ships, procuring freight,…

To affect as with blows; to strike repeatedly; to strive with or contend against; as, to buffet the billows. The sudden hurricane in thunder roars, Buffets the bark, and whirls it from the shores. Broome. You are lucky fellows who can live in a dreamland of your own, instead of being buffeted about the world. W. Black.…

Magnitude of material substance; dimensions; mass; size; as, an ox or ship of great bulk. Against these forces there were prepared near one hundred ships; not so great of bulk indeed, but of a more nimble motion, and more serviceable. Bacon.

That which secures against an enemy, or defends from attack; any means of defense or protection. The royal navy of England hath ever been its greatest defense, . . . the floating bulwark of our island. Blackstone.

See Bottomery. [Obs.] There was a scivener of Wapping brought to hearing for relief against a bummery bond. R. North.

To strike, as with or against anything large or solid; to thump; as, to bump the head against a wall.

An embankment against inundation. [India] S. Wells Williams.

position in a court of law, a failure in the performance of which duty calls for judgment against the party on whom the duty is imposed.