Definition

1. Noun:
   • A two-masted sailing vessel, square-rigged on both masts: A type of ship with two masts, both of which have sails set square across the mast.
   • A place of confinement, especially on a warship: A prison or cell, particularly one used for temporary confinement on a military vessel.

Examples

• Noun (Sailing Vessel):

  • The merchant brig was loaded with spices from the East Indies.
  • They sailed across the Atlantic in a small, sturdy brig.

• Noun (Place of Confinement):

  • The disobedient sailor was locked in the brig for three days.
  • The ship's captain had the authority to order confinement in the brig.

Advanced Usage

• "To be thrown in the brig": To be placed in a ship's prison as a punishment.
  • The mutineers were immediately thrown in the brig.

Variants and Related Words

• Brigantine (n): A two-masted sailing vessel similar to a brig, but with the mainmast fore-and-aft rigged and only the foremast square-rigged.
• Brig-sloop (n): A warship, smaller than a frigate, which carried its guns on a single deck and was often brig-rigged.

Synonyms

• Sailing vessel: Ship, boat, craft (for the nautical meaning).
• Prison cell: Lockup, jail, detention cell, guardhouse (for the confinement meaning).

Related Phrases

• Brig of war: A warship that is brig-rigged.
  • The small fleet included several fast brigs of war.

Related Idioms

• No specific idioms are uniquely associated with the word 'brig'. However, phrases like "in the brig" are commonly used to denote naval imprisonment.

Noun

1. a penal institution (especially on board a ship)
2. two-masted sailing vessel square-rigged on both masts