Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

bracketing

noun

/ˈbrækɪtɪŋ/

Definition

The act of placing something in brackets or dividing it into distinct categories.

Examples

Bracketing is often used in mathematics to clarify the order of operations.
In the research study, respondents were divided into groups through a process of bracketing.
When writing essays, students may use bracketing to signify parenthetical statements.

Meaning

Bracketing can refer to the use of brackets in writing to enclose optional or explanatory information, or in a more abstract sense, to categorize or group items together based on certain similarities.