Online dictionaryOnline dictionary
Synonyms, antonyms, pronunciation

  Home 		English Dictionary      examples: 'day', 'get rid of', 'New York Bay'




Bridle   /brˈaɪdəl/   Listen
noun
Bridle  n.  
1.
The head gear with which a horse is governed and restrained, consisting of a headstall, a bit, and reins, with other appendages.
2.
A restraint; a curb; a check.
3.
(Gun.) The piece in the interior of a gun lock, which holds in place the tumbler, sear, etc.
4.
(Naut.)
(a)
A span of rope, line, or chain made fast as both ends, so that another rope, line, or chain may be attached to its middle.
(b)
A mooring hawser.
Bowline bridle. See under Bowline.
Branches of a bridle. See under Branch.
Bridle cable (Naut.), a cable which is bent to a bridle. See 4, above.
Bridle hand, the hand which holds the bridle in riding; the left hand.
Bridle path, Bridle way, a path or way for saddle horses and pack horses, as distinguished from a road for vehicles.
Bridle port (Naut.), a porthole or opening in the bow through which hawsers, mooring or bridle cables, etc., are passed.
Bridle rein, a rein attached to the bit.
Bridle road.
(a)
Same as Bridle path.
(b)
A road in a pleasure park reserved for horseback exercise.
Bridle track, a bridle path.
Scolding bridle. See Branks, 2.
Synonyms: A check; restrain.


verb
Bridle  v. t.  (past & past part. bridled; pres. part. bridling)  
1.
To put a bridle upon; to equip with a bridle; as, to bridle a horse. "He bridled her mouth with a silkweed twist."
2.
To restrain, guide, or govern, with, or as with, a bridle; to check, curb, or control; as, to bridle the passions; to bridle a muse. "Savoy and Nice, the keys of Italy, and the citadel in her hands to bridle Switzerland, are in that consolidation."
Synonyms: To check; restrain; curb; govern; control; repress; master; subdue.


Bridle  v. i.  To hold up the head, and draw in the chin, as an expression of pride, scorn, or resentment; to assume a lofty manner; usually with up. "His bridling neck." "By her bridling up I perceived she expected to be treated hereafter not as Jenny Distaff, but Mrs. Tranquillus."





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


Advanced search
     Find words:
Starting with
Ending with
Containing
Matching a pattern  

Synonyms
Antonyms
Quotes
Words linked to  

only single words


Share |
Add this dictionary
to your browser search bar




"Bridle" Quotes from Famous Books



... told Tony he'd kill him if he shot the renegade broncho. Tony backed up, but it made him sore and he fired th' Ramblin' Kid. The darned little cuss set there a minute thinking, then slid off his horse, stripped him of riding gear, flung saddle, blanket and bridle over the bars into the corral. Before we knowed what he was aiming to do he climbed up and dropped down inside, on foot, with just his rope, and faced that outlaw battin' ...
— The Ramblin' Kid • Earl Wayland Bowman
... amounted to about twelve hundred dollars. Lincoln and Berry consulted over it, and offered me two hundred and fifty dollars for my bargain. I accepted, stipulating that they should assume my notes. Berry was a wild fellow—a gambler. He had a fine horse, with a splendid saddle and bridle. He turned over the horse as part pay. Lincoln let Berry run the store, and it soon ran out. I had to pay the note. Lincoln said he would pay it some day and did, with interest." This ended Lincoln's brief career as a ...
— The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln • Francis Fisher Browne
... the Restrainer." The name is given to her as having helped Bellerophon to bridle Pegasus, the ...
— The Queen of the Air • John Ruskin
... a bridle-path through a wood about a dozen years ago with a friend. He was in front. At one point a twig sprang back—you know how easily a thing like that happens. It just flicked my eye—nothing to ...
— Four Max Carrados Detective Stories • Ernest Bramah
... our best, and being well fed and well armed may hope to be able to cut our way out of the melee if all should be lost. We fight for honour and from good-will. But this is not a case in which we would die rather than turn bridle, as it would be were we fighting under the banner of England and the ...
— A March on London • G. A. Henty


More quotes...


Copyright © 2025 Dictionary One.com