noun
brawn
brawn
noun
1
Physical muscle and strength, especially as opposed to intelligence or skill.
"Moving the piano took more brawn than technique."
"The job needs brains as well as brawn."
2
(British) A cold cooked dish made from pieces of meat from a pig or calf's head, set in jelly.
"His grandmother always served brawn with pickles at Christmas."
How to Use Brawn
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMuscle power, or (in Britain) a meaty jellied dish — two very different senses of the same word.
Common mistake
Don't confuse the food sense (a terrine) with the "muscle" sense — context makes it obvious, but they look identical.
Common pairings
brains and brawn
sheer brawn
Word Forms
brawned past tense, brawns plural, Brawns plural, brawns singular
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Moving the piano took more _____ than technique.
Etymology
From Old French braon ("fleshy part of the body"), tracing back to a Germanic word for roasted meat.