English
brass
Pronunciation Noun

brass (uncountable)

  1. (uncountable) A metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications.
    1. A memorial or sepulchral tablet usually made of brass or latten
    2. Fittings, utensils, or other items made of brass
  2. (music) A class of wind instruments, usually made of metal (such as brass), that use vibrations of the player's lips to produce sound; the section of an orchestra that features such instruments
  3. Spent shell casings (usually made of brass); the part of the cartridge left over after bullets have been fired.
  4. (uncountable) The colour of brass.
     
  5. (uncountable, used as a singular or plural noun, military, metonym) High-ranking officers.
    The brass are not going to like this.
    The brass is not going to like this.
  6. (uncountable, informal) A brave or foolhardy attitude; impudence.
    You've got a lot of brass telling me to do that!
  7. (slang, dated) Money.
  8. Inferior composition.
Translations Translations
  • German: messingen, aus Messing
  • Portuguese: de latão
  • Russian: лату́нный
Translations Translations
  • Russian: духово́й
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Adjective

brass

  1. Made of brass, of or pertaining to brass.
  2. Of the colour of brass.
  3. (informal) Impertinent, bold: brazen.
    • 1869, Calendar of State Papers, domestic series, of the reign of Charles I, 1637-1638, edited by John Bruce, page 147:
      At the Council board, I hope to charge him with that he cannot answer, and yet I know his face is brass enough.
    • 1996 May 24, 2:00 am, Sherman Simpson, Want license key for AGENT FOR WINDOWS95, alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent:
      Maybe (probably so), but it's rare someone is brass enough to post a msg for all to see asking for a software key, that the vast majority have paid for in support of the development effort.
    • 2000 Aug 18, 2:00 am, David Ryan, strangest bid retraction /illegal lottery NOT, rec.collecting.coins:
      After cornering the dutch auction, the seller was brass enough to send him the whole lot without one.
    • 2000 Aug 19, 3:00 am, n4mwd, for RMB, alt.support.anxiety-panic:
      Try to keep in mind that not all of his converts are brass enough to challenge the benzo pushers in this group, [...]
  4. (slang) Bad, annoying; as wordplay applied especially to brass instruments.
    • 1888, Mr. & Mrs. Bancroft on and off the stage: written by themselves, volume 1, page 90:
      Grindoff, the miller, 'and the leader of a very brass band of most unpopular performers, with a thorough base accompaniment of at least fifty vices,' was played by Miss Saunders.
    • 1900, The Training of Seamen, published in The Saturday Review, 3 November 1900, volume 90, number 2349, page 556:
      I must confess that to me there is something almost pathetic in the sight of a body of bluejackets improving their muscles on the quarter deck by bar-bell exercise, accompanied by a brass — a very brass — band, [...]
    • 1908, The Smith Family, published in Punch, March 4 1908, bound in Punch vol. CXXXIV, page 168:
      Mr. REGINALD SMITH, KC, the publisher, followed, but he had hardly begun his very interesting remarks when a procession headed by a very brass band entered Smithfield from the west, and approached the platform.
    • Philippine Magazine, volume 6, page 27:
      The padre in my neighborhood — Santa Ana — was having some kind of a fiesta, and had hired a very brass band. This band kept up its martial airs for hours and hours after I got home, with grand finales — or what each time I hoped would be the grand finale, every five minutes.
  5. Of inferior composition.
Translations
  • Italian: d'ottone
Translations
  • French: couleur de laiton
  • German: messingfarben, messinggelb
  • Portuguese: bronze
Translations
  • Italian: dalla faccia di bronzo
Verb

brass (brasses, present participle brassing; past and past participle brassed)

  1. (transitive) To coat with brass.
Related terms Noun

brass (uncountable)

  1. (uncountable, slang) Brass in pocket; money.
  2. (countable, slang) A brass nail; a prostitute.
    • 1996, Will Self, The Sweet Smell of Psychosis, Bloomsbury 2011, p. 2:
      Richard didn't want the man on the corner to go up and fuck one of the brasses.
Adjective
  1. (slang) Brass monkey; cold.


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