Word.ws English Dictionary

jake brake

jake brake noun: especially on trucks, an engine compression release braking system that opens the exhaust valves in each cylinder near the top of their compression strokes in order to slow the vehicle; an engine retarder.

Noun

jake brake (plural jake brakes)

  1. (slang) Especially on trucks, an engine compression release braking system that opens the exhaust valves in each cylinder near the top of their compression strokes in order to slow the vehicle; an engine retarder.
    Synonyms:
    Jacobs brake

Synonyms of jake brake

  • Jacobs brake

Forms of jake brake

pluraljake brakes
alternative formJake brake
alternative formJake Brake
alternative formjakebrake
alternative formJakeBrake

Origin of jake brake

From JakeBrake, an abbreviation for the Jacobs brand name of engine braking systems.

Questions about jake brake

What does jake brake mean?
Jake brake means especially on trucks, an engine compression release braking system that opens the exhaust valves in each cylinder near the top of their compression strokes in order to slow the vehicle; an engine retarder.
What part of speech is jake brake?
Jake brake is a noun.
What is the plural of jake brake?
The plural of jake brake is jake brakes.

Words near jake brake in the dictionary

  1. Jakarta Raya
  2. Jakartan
  3. Jakartans
  4. Jakati
  5. jake
  6. jake brake
  7. jake brakes
  8. Jake it
  9. jake leg
  10. jaked
  11. jakeloo

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: jake brake (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-jake brake.ogg.

Cite this entry: “jake brake.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/jake_brake. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.