Standard Lemma guide

bridle

noun · verb · 15 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈbɹaɪdəl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • homophone: bridal
  • rhymes with -aɪdəl
  • CMU ARPABET: B R AY1 D AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The headgear with which a horse is directed and which carries a bit and reins.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: equestrianism, hobbies, horses, lifestyle, pets, sports

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A restraint; a curb; a check.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A length of line or cable attached to two parts of something to spread the force of a pull, as the rigging on a kite for attaching line.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A mooring hawser.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A piece in the interior of a gunlock which holds in place the tumbler, sear, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A gesture expressing pride or vanity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To put a bridle on.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To check, restrain, or control with, or as if with, a bridle; as in bridle your tongue.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

verb

Meaning 9

To show hostility or resentment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • Immigrant-rights and religious organizations bridled at the plan to favor highly skilled workers over relatives. (Houston Chronicle, 6/8/2007)

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

verb

Meaning 10

To hold up one's head proudly or affectedly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

noun

Meaning 11

the act of restraining power or action or limiting excess

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • his common sense is a bridle to his quick temper

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: check, curb

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: restraint

12

noun

Meaning 12

headgear for a horse; includes a headstall and bit and reins to give the rider or driver control

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: headgear

13

verb

Meaning 13

respond to the reins, as of horses

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: answer, reply, respond

14

verb

Meaning 14

put a bridle on

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • bridle horses

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: unbridle

Broader terms: restrain, encumber, cumber, constrain

Narrower terms: snaffle

15

verb

Meaning 15

anger or take offense

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • She bridled at his suggestion to elope

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: anger, see red

History

Etymology

From Middle English bridel, from Old English brīdel, from Proto-West Germanic *brigdil, from Proto-Germanic *brigdilaz (“strap, rein”), equivalent to braid + -le.

Across languages

Translations

192 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: gjem — headgear for horse
  • Albanian: fre — headgear for horse
  • Southern Altai: ӱйген (üygen) — headgear for horse
  • Southern Altai: ӱгӧн (ügön) — headgear for horse
  • Amharic: ልጓም (ləgwam) — headgear for horse
  • Arabic: لِجَام (lijām) — headgear for horse
  • Arabic: صُرْع (ṣurʕ) — headgear for horse
  • Arabic: عِنَان (ʕinān) — headgear for horse
  • Arabic: لجام (ligām) — headgear for horse
  • Armenian: սանձ (sanj) — headgear for horse
  • Aromanian: fãrnu — headgear for horse
  • Aromanian: frãn — headgear for horse
  • Asturian: brides — headgear for horse
  • Azerbaijani: yüyən — headgear for horse
  • Azerbaijani: cilov — headgear for horse
  • Bashkir: йүгән (yügən) — headgear for horse
  • Belarusian: вуздэ́чка (vuzdéčka) — headgear for horse
  • Bengali: লাগাম (lagam) — headgear for horse
  • Bulgarian: юзда́ (juzdá) — headgear for horse
  • Burmese: ဇက်ခွံ့ (jakhkwam.) — headgear for horse
  • Catalan: brida — headgear for horse
  • Chinese Mandarin: 轡 /辔 (pèi) — headgear for horse
  • Chinese Mandarin: 轡頭 /辔头 (pèitóu) — headgear for horse
  • Chinese Mandarin: 馬籠頭 /马笼头 (mǎlóngtóu) — headgear for horse
  • Chuvash: йӗвен (jĕven) — headgear for horse
  • Cimbrian: brittel — headgear for horse
  • Czech: uzda — headgear for horse
  • Dalmatian: braina — headgear for horse
  • Danish: bidsel — headgear for horse
  • Dutch: hoofdstel — headgear for horse
  • Dutch: toom — headgear for horse
  • Esperanto: brido — headgear for horse
  • Estonian: valjad — headgear for horse
  • Faroese: boksl — headgear for horse
  • Finnish: suitset — headgear for horse
  • French: bride — headgear for horse
  • Friulian: brene — headgear for horse
  • Galician: brida — headgear for horse
  • Galician: freo — headgear for horse
  • Georgian: აღვირი (aɣviri) — headgear for horse
  • Georgian: ლაგამი (lagami) — headgear for horse
  • German: Zaumzeug — headgear for horse
  • German: Zaum — headgear for horse
  • Greek: χαλινάρι (chalinári) — headgear for horse
  • Ancient Greek: ἀμπυκτήρ (ampuktḗr) — headgear for horse
  • Ancient Greek: ἡνίᾱ (hēníā) — headgear for horse
  • Ancient Greek: χαλινός (khalinós) — headgear for horse
  • Gujarati: લગામ (lagām) — headgear for horse
  • Hebrew: רֶסֶן (résen) — headgear for horse
  • Hindi: लगाम (lagām) — headgear for horse
  • Hungarian: kantár — headgear for horse
  • Icelandic: beisli — headgear for horse
  • Ido: brido — headgear for horse
  • Indonesian: kekang — headgear for horse
  • Irish: srian — headgear for horse
  • Italian: briglia — headgear for horse
  • Japanese: 手綱 (tadzuna) — headgear for horse
  • Kazakh: жүген (jügen) — headgear for horse
  • Khmer: បង្ហៀរ (bɑɑbɑnghiə) — headgear for horse
  • Korean: 굴레 (gulle) — headgear for horse
  • Korean: 고삐 (goppi) — headgear for horse
  • Central Kurdish: لْغاو (liẍaw) — headgear for horse
  • Northern Kurdish: dizgîn — headgear for horse
  • Northern Kurdish: liwan — headgear for horse
  • Northern Kurdish: lixav — headgear for horse
  • Southern Kurdish: لْغاو (liẍaw) — headgear for horse
  • Kyrgyz: жүгөн (jügön) — headgear for horse
  • Lao: ແຄ່ມ (khǣm) — headgear for horse
  • Lao: ໃຫຍ້ (h) — headgear for horse
  • Latin: frēnum — headgear for horse
  • Latin: aurea — headgear for horse
  • Latvian: iemaukti — headgear for horse
  • Lithuanian: kamanos — headgear for horse
  • Macedonian: узда (uzda) — headgear for horse
  • Malay: kekang — headgear for horse
  • Malayalam: കടിഞ്ഞാൺ (kaṭiññāṇ) — headgear for horse
  • Maltese: lġiem — headgear for horse
  • Manchu: ᡥᠠᡩᠠᠯᠠ (hadala) — headgear for horse
  • Māori: paraire — headgear for horse
  • Māori: paraehe — headgear for horse
  • Mongolian: хазаар (xazaar) — headgear for horse
  • Mongolian: ᠬᠠᠵᠠᠭᠠᠷ (qaǰaɣar) — headgear for horse
  • Norman: bridot — headgear for horse
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bissel — headgear for horse
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hodelag — headgear for horse
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: beisel — headgear for horse
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: hovudlag — headgear for horse
  • Church Slavic: оузда (uzda) — headgear for horse
  • Old East Slavic: узда (uzda) — headgear for horse
  • Old English: brīdel — headgear for horse
  • Pashto: لگام (legām) — headgear for horse
  • Persian: لگام (legâm) — headgear for horse
  • Persian: لجام (lejâm) — headgear for horse
  • Persian: عنان ('anân) — headgear for horse
  • Polish: uzda — headgear for horse
  • Polish: ogłowie — headgear for horse
  • Portuguese: brida — headgear for horse
  • Punjabi: ਲਗਾਮ (lagām) — headgear for horse
  • Romanian: frâu — headgear for horse
  • Romanian: hăț — headgear for horse
  • Russian: узда́ (uzdá) — headgear for horse
  • Russian: узде́чка (uzdéčka) — headgear for horse
  • Sardinian: frenu — headgear for horse
  • Scottish Gaelic: srian — headgear for horse
  • Serbo-Croatian: узде — headgear for horse
  • Serbo-Croatian: uzde — headgear for horse
  • Slovak: uzda — headgear for horse
  • Slovene: uzda — headgear for horse
  • Spanish: brida — headgear for horse
  • Swahili: hatamu — headgear for horse
  • Swedish: betsel — headgear for horse
  • Tajik: ҷилав (jilav) — headgear for horse
  • Tajik: лаҷом (lajom) — headgear for horse
  • Tajik: инон (inon) — headgear for horse
  • Tatar: йөгән (yögän) — headgear for horse
  • Telugu: కళ్లెము (kaḷlemu) — headgear for horse
  • Thai: ขลุม (klǔm) — headgear for horse
  • Thai: บังเหียน (bang-hǐian) — headgear for horse
  • Tigrinya: ልጓም (ləgwam) — headgear for horse
  • Turkish: dizgin — headgear for horse
  • Turkish: yular — headgear for horse
  • Turkish: oyan — headgear for horse
  • Ottoman Turkish: اویان (oyan) — headgear for horse
  • Ottoman Turkish: لكام (ligam) — headgear for horse
  • Turkmen: jylaw — headgear for horse
  • Ukrainian: вузде́чка (vuzdéčka) — headgear for horse
  • Urdu: لَگام (lagām) — headgear for horse
  • Uyghur: يۈگەن (yügen) — headgear for horse
  • Uyghur: تىزگىن (tizgin) — headgear for horse
  • Uzbek: yugan — headgear for horse
  • Uzbek: jugan — headgear for horse
  • Vietnamese: cương ngựa — headgear for horse
  • Vietnamese: cương — headgear for horse
  • Vilamovian: caum — headgear for horse
  • Welsh: ffrwyn — headgear for horse
  • Yakut: үүн (üün) — headgear for horse
  • Armenian: սանձահարել (sanjaharel) — to put a bridle on
  • Azerbaijani: yüyənləmək — to put a bridle on
  • Czech: nauzdit — to put a bridle on
  • Dutch: breidelen — to put a bridle on
  • Finnish: suitsia — to put a bridle on
  • French: brider — to put a bridle on
  • Galician: enfrear — to put a bridle on
  • Galician: embridar — to put a bridle on
  • German: aufzäumen — to put a bridle on
  • German: Zaumzeug anlegen — to put a bridle on
  • Ancient Greek: χαλινόω (khalinóō) — to put a bridle on
  • Ido: bridagar — to put a bridle on
  • Italian: imbrigliare — to put a bridle on
  • Māori: paraire — to put a bridle on
  • Polish: kiełznać — to put a bridle on
  • Russian: взну́здывать (vznúzdyvatʹ) — to put a bridle on
  • Russian: взнузда́ть (vznuzdátʹ) — to put a bridle on
  • Serbo-Croatian: zauzdati — to put a bridle on
  • Slovak: zauzdiť — to put a bridle on
  • Slovak: zauzďovať — to put a bridle on
  • Spanish: embridar — to put a bridle on
  • Swedish: betsla — to put a bridle on
  • Turkish: gemlemek — to put a bridle on
  • Turkish: oyanlamak — to put a bridle on
  • Ottoman Turkish: اویانلامق (oyanlamak) — to put a bridle on
  • Welsh: ffrwyno — to put a bridle on
  • Armenian: սանձահարել (sanjaharel) — to check, restrain
  • Aromanian: nfãrnu — to check, restrain
  • Bulgarian: обуздавам (obuzdavam) — to check, restrain
  • Dutch: intomen — to check, restrain
  • Dutch: in bedwang houden — to check, restrain
  • Finnish: suitsia — to check, restrain
  • French: brider — to check, restrain
  • French: refréner — to check, restrain
  • German: zügeln — to check, restrain
  • German: in Zaum halten — to check, restrain
  • Romanian: înfrâna — to check, restrain
  • Russian: обу́здывать (obúzdyvatʹ) — to check, restrain
  • Russian: обузда́ть (obuzdátʹ) — to check, restrain
  • Russian: сде́рживать (sdérživatʹ) — to check, restrain
  • Russian: сдержа́ть (sderžátʹ) — to check, restrain
  • Russian: усмиря́ть (usmirjátʹ) — to check, restrain
  • Russian: усмири́ть (usmirítʹ) — to check, restrain
  • Russian: укроща́ть (ukroščátʹ) — to check, restrain
  • Russian: укроти́ть (ukrotítʹ) — to check, restrain
  • Welsh: ffrwyno — to check, restrain
  • Dutch: gepikeerd reageren — to show hostility
  • Dutch: zich vijandig opstellen — to show hostility
  • Finnish: vastustaa — to show hostility
  • French: être susceptible — to show hostility
  • French: réagir de manière piquée — to show hostility
  • German: feindselig reagieren — to show hostility
  • German: abweisend reagieren — to show hostility
  • German: sich abweisend verhalten — to show hostility
  • Polish: żachnąć się — to show hostility
  • Serbo-Croatian: obuzdati — to show hostility
Real reading context

bridle in complete knowledge articles