Definition

1. Verb:

   • To speak with excessive pride about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities; to boast.
   • To declare or assert with excessive or unjustified pride.

2. Noun:

   • A boastful statement or act; an instance of boastful talk.
   • (Archaic/American English) A person who brags habitually; a boaster.

3. Adjective:

   • (Chiefly dialectal or archaic) Exceptionally good; first-rate.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • He would constantly brag about his promotion to anyone who would listen.
  • It's impolite to brag about your wealth.
• Noun:
  • His claim of having met the president was just an empty brag.
  • The story he told was more brag than truth.
• Adjective:
  • (Less common) He grew a brag crop of tomatoes this year.

Advanced Usage

• "to brag on (someone/something)": To praise or speak proudly about someone or something, often without the negative connotation of boasting.
  • She loves to brag on her grandchildren's accomplishments.
• "brag and boast": A common collocation emphasizing the act of boasting.
  • All his brag and boast couldn't hide his lack of experience.

Variants and Related Words

• Braggart (n): A person who brags a lot.
• Bragging (n/adj): The act or habit of boasting; boastful.
  • His constant bragging became tiresome.
• Braggadocio (n): Boastful or arrogant behavior; empty boasting. (A more literary synonym)

Synonyms

• Verb: Boast, crow, vaunt, swagger, talk big, show off.
• Noun: Boast, vaunt, crowing, gasconade.
• Adjective: Excellent, superb, first-class.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

• Brag about: The most common construction, followed by the object of pride.
  • She bragged about her high test score.
• Brag that: Used to introduce the content of the boastful statement.
  • He bragged that he could run faster than anyone.

Related Idioms

• "If you've got it, flaunt it.": An idiom related to the concept of bragging, suggesting that if you possess something desirable, you should show it off. This captures the spirit, though not the exact word, of brag.
• "All talk and no action": Describes someone who brags but doesn't deliver, relating to empty bragging.

Adjective

1. exceptionally good
   • a boss hand at carpentry
   • his brag cornfield

Noun

1. an instance of boastful talk
   • his brag is worse than his fight
   • whenever he won we were exposed to his gasconade

Verb

1. show off