brakes (Noun) — A braking device consisting of a combination of interacting parts that work to slow a motor vehicle. ex. "the mechanic's failure to check the brakes"
brakes (Noun) — A restraint used to slow or stop a vehicle.
brakes (Noun) — Any of various ferns of the genus Pteris having pinnately compound leaves and including several popular houseplants.
brakes (Noun) — Large coarse fern often several feet high; essentially weed ferns; cosmopolitan.
brakes (Noun) — An area thickly overgrown usually with one kind of plant.
brakes (Noun) — Anything that slows or hinders a process. ex. "she was not ready to put the brakes on her life with a marriage" ex. "new legislation will put the brakes on spending"
brakes (Noun) — (historical) an open four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage.
brakes (Verb) — (driving) stop travelling by applying a brake. ex. "We had to brake suddenly when a chicken crossed the road"
brakes (Verb) — (driving) cause to stop by applying the brakes. ex. "brake the car before you go into a curve"