Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

brake

1 noun
     
Related topics: Transport
brake1 [countable]
1TT a piece of equipment that makes a vehicle go more slowly or stop:
Test your brakes after driving through water.
Moira slammed on the brakes (=use them suddenly and with a lot of force).
I managed to put on the brakes just in time.
a car equipped with anti-lock brakes
the screech of brakes (=the loud unpleasant noise they can make)
apply the brakes formal:
Williams tried to apply the brakes but couldn't stop the vehicle in time.
2

act as a brake on something

to make something develop more slowly, be more difficult to do, or happen less:
Rises in interest rates act as a brake on expenditure.
3

put the brakes on something

to stop something that is happening
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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