brassiere

or bras·sière

[ bruh-zeer ]

noun

1. a woman's undergarment for supporting the breasts.

brassiere

/ ˈbræsɪə; ˈbræz- /

noun

1. a woman's undergarment for covering and supporting the breasts Often shortened tobra

Word History and Origins

Origin of brassiere¹

1910–15; < French brassière bodice worn as an undergarment to support the breasts (now obsolete in this sense), Middle French bracieres camisole, Old French: armor for the arms, equivalent to bras arm ( brace ) + -ière, suffix added to body part nouns, the resultant derivative denoting an article for that part < Latin -āria -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of brassiere¹

C20: from C17 French: bodice, from Old French braciere a protector for the arm, from braz arm

Example Sentences

She picked out a slightly padded, flesh-toned brassiere that I could barely bring myself to try on.

From The Daily Beast

The tapes are crossed at the back and brought round to the front to regulate the fit of the brassiere.

From Project Gutenberg

Sew a piece of tape ending with a loop on the point of the front to fasten the Brassiere to the corset.

From Project Gutenberg

With the brassiere in place, she stood looking at her slim image.

From Project Gutenberg

This garment has the added attraction of being fastened to the upper garment, a tight satin brassiere.

From Project Gutenberg

The pattern for the Brassiere shown here is in three parts, the front, side-front and back.

From Project Gutenberg