The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - brake n.

1) curb, check, restraint, restriction, constraint, control, rein: The central bank applied a brake to the upward trend of the dollar by buying Deutschmarks. --v. 2) slow, slow up or down, put on or apply the brakes, reduce speed, decelerate, slacken, hold up: He braked before the bad curve. She braked the car going down the steep hill.