What does braze mean?
To braze is to join pieces of metal by heating them and flowing a filler metal—historically brass—into the gap between them. The filler melts and bonds to the base metals, which themselves do not melt, producing a strong joint once cooled. Brazing occupies a middle ground between soldering, which uses much lower temperatures, and welding, in which the parent metals are fused directly. The technique is widely used in plumbing, bicycle frame building, HVAC systems, and precision engineering, where it allows dissimilar metals to be joined cleanly without warping them. The word derives from brass, and its adjective relative 'brazen' shares the same root. Because it appears almost exclusively in technical and trade settings, braze carries a practical, workmanlike connotation rather than a figurative one.
verbTo join pieces of metal by melting and flowing a filler metal (traditionally brass) into the joint at high temperature, without melting the base metals themselves.
- To join metal parts by heating them with a filler metal that melts above about 450 °C but below the melting point of the base metals.
"The machinist used a torch to braze the copper fittings together."
"The plumber brazed the copper pipe joints to ensure a watertight seal."
"In the workshop, she learned to braze steel frames using an oxy-acetylene torch."
Brazing joins metal with molten brass — the word literally carries 'brass' in its bones.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of braze
The verb braze comes from brass, ultimately from Old English bræs, the alloy of copper and zinc. It entered English in the sense of hardening or joining with brass, likely reinforced by French braser ('to solder with brass'). Its closest relatives are brass itself and the derived adjective brazen.
Related word forms
How braze is actually used
Braze is a technical term used mainly in metalworking, plumbing, and engineering contexts. It is distinguished from welding (where the base metals themselves melt) and soldering (which uses lower temperatures and softer fillers such as tin-lead alloys). The noun form for the process is 'brazing'.
Easily confused with braze
A blaze is a bright flame or fire; to braze is to join metal using heat and a filler metal.
To braise is to cook food slowly in fat and liquid in a covered pot; to braze is a metalworking technique.