braze

Word family

• brazing
  noun
• brazed
  adjective
• brazer
  noun

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Brazing, soldering, and welding are all metal-joining techniques, but they differ in temperature and method. Soldering uses the lowest heat — typical in electronics, where a soft filler (often tin-based) melts below 450°C to join delicate wires without damaging components. Brazing runs hotter (above 450°C), using a stronger alloy filler like brass or silver to create durable joints in pipes, bicycle frames, and jewellery — but the base metal never melts. Welding goes further still: the base metals themselves are melted and fused, often with a filler rod of the same material, producing the strongest possible bond (used in construction, shipbuilding, and car manufacturing). Fuse is a broader, less technical term for joining by melting and can apply to any of these processes in everyday speech. For example, a plumber brazes copper pipes with a torch, an electrician solders a circuit board with an iron, and a steelworker welds beams with an arc.

Common collocations

Etymology

Braze comes from the Old French verb braser, meaning 'to burn' or 'to set on fire', which itself developed from brese ('live coals' or 'embers'). The word entered English in the late 16th century, carrying the idea of joining metals with intense heat — a meaning it has kept ever since.