A Quick and Simple Dictionary

bracket

1. Noun.  A fixture attached to a wall to hold up a shelf.
2. Noun.  (engineering) Any intermediate object that connects a smaller part to a larger part, the smaller part typically projecting sideways from the larger part.
3. Noun.  Generically, any of "(", ")", "[", "]", "{", "}", and, in the area of computer languages, "<", ">".
4. Noun.  "(" and ")" specifically, the other forms above requiring adjectives for disambiguation.
5. Noun.  (context, technical) "[" and "]" specifically - opposed to the other forms of which have their own technical names.
6. Noun.  (sports) .
7. Noun.  One of several ranges of numbers.
8. Verb.  To bound on both sides, to surround as enclosing with brackets.
9. Verb.  To place in the same category.
10. Verb.  To mark distinctly for special treatment.
11. Verb.  To set aside, discount, ignore.
12. Verb.  (photography) To take multiple images of the same subject, using a range of exposure settings, in order to help ensure that a satisfactory image is obtained.
13. Verb.  (philosophy, phenomenology) In the philosophical system of Edmund Husserl and his followers, to set aside metaphysical theories and existential questions concerning what is real in order to focus philosophical attention simply on the actual content of experience.