• (British) IPA: /bɹʌɪə/
• IPA: /ˈbɹaɪə(ɹ)/

briar (plural briars)

1. Any of many plants with thorny stems growing in dense clusters, such as many in the Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax genera.
2. (figurative) Anything sharp or unpleasant to the feelings.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Ezekiel 2:6 ↗:

     ¶ And thou ſonne of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their wordes, though bryars and thornes be with thee, and thou doeſt dwell among ſcorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be diſmayed at their lookes, though they be a rebellious houſe.

   • 1785, William Cowper, The Task (poem)^{[https://books.google.co.in/books?id=HqtbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA168&dq=The+thorns+and+briers+of+reproof.+(Cowper)&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiSlr2ewLXkAhUOcCsKHWbMBSgQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=The%20thorns%20and%20briers%20of%20reproof.%20(Cowper)&f=false]}:

     Rov'd far, and gather'd much : some harsh, 't is true, / Pick'd from the thorns and briers of reproof, / But wholesome, well-digested ; […]

briar (plural briars)

1. The white heath, Erica arborea, a thorny Mediterranean shrub.
2. A pipe for smoking, made from the roots of that shrub.

• French: bruyère

1. Surname
2. A male given name.