brands

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of brand.

   Shoppers compared three competing brands before settling on one.

   The rancher inspected the brands burned into each steer's hide.

   Note

   One spelling, two parts of speech: brands is also the present-tense verb, and only context separates "the brands on the hide" from "she brands the cattle." As a noun plural it gathers the marks burned in by a hot iron, the branding irons themselves, and the names and logos that identify products. More loosely, it can mean distinct kinds or styles of anything, as in rival brands of humor.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of brand.

   The rancher brands every newborn animal during the spring roundup.

   The press brands him a traitor whenever he questions the party line.

   Note

   Agreement with a singular subject (he, she, it, the rancher) is what this form signals. Nearly every use is transitive: someone brands an animal, a product, or a person. When the object is a person being labeled, a complement usually follows: the press brands him a traitor. One use stands apart. In the sense "is very hot, burns," it takes no object at all.

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