Bracketing

a series of brackets.
framework for supporting a cove, cornice, plaster ceiling ornament, etc.
a support, as of metal or wood, projecting from a wall or the like to hold or bear the weight of a shelf, part of a cornice, etc.
a shelf or shelves so supported.
Also called square bracket. one of two marks [ or ] used in writing or printing to enclose parenthetical matter, interpolations, etc.
Mathematics.

brackets, parentheses of various forms indicating that the enclosed quantity is to be treated as a unit.
(loosely) vinculum (def 2).
Informal. an expression or formula between a pair of brackets.

a grouping of people based on the amount of their income:
the low-income bracket.
a class; grouping; classification:
She travels in a different social bracket.
Architecture.

any horizontally projecting support for an overhanging weight, as a corbel, cantilever, or console.
any of a series of fancifully shaped false consoles beneath an ornamental cornice.

(on a staircase) an ornamental piece filling the angle between a riser and its tread.
Shipbuilding.

a flat plate, usually triangular with a flange on one edge, used to unite and reinforce the junction between two flat members or surfaces meeting at an angle.
any member for reinforcing the angle between two members or surfaces.

a projecting fixture for gas or electricity.
Gunnery. range or elevation producing both shorts and overs on a target.
to furnish with or support by a bracket or brackets.
to place within brackets; couple with a brace.
to associate, mention, or class together:
Gossip columnists often bracket them together, so a wedding may be imminent.
Gunnery. to place (shots) both beyond and short of a target.
Photography. to take (additional shots) at exposure levels above and below the estimated correct exposure.
Historical Examples

Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great Philosophers, Volume 8 Elbert Hubbard
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 2 Various
Islands of Space John W Campbell
Betty at Fort Blizzard Molly Elliot Seawell
The Lure of Old London Sophie Cole
Modern Leaders: Being a Series of Biographical Sketches Justin McCarthy
My Discovery of England Stephen Leacock
The Leicestershires beyond Baghdad Edward John Thompson
From Bapaume to Passchendaele, 1917 Philip Gibbs
Greener Than You Think Ward Moore

noun
a set of brackets
(photog) a technique in which a series of test pictures are taken at different exposure levels in order to obtain the optimum exposure
noun
an L-shaped or other support fixed to a wall to hold a shelf, etc
one or more wall shelves carried on brackets
(architect) a support projecting from the side of a wall or other structure See also corbel, ancon, console2
Also called square bracket. either of a pair of characters, [ ], used to enclose a section of writing or printing to separate it from the main text
a general name for parenthesis, square bracket, brace (sense 6)
a group or category falling within or between certain defined limits: the lower income bracket
the distance between two preliminary shots of artillery fire in range-finding
a skating figure consisting of two arcs meeting at a point, tracing the shape ⋎
verb (transitive) -kets, -keting, -keted
to fix or support by means of a bracket or brackets
to put (written or printed matter) in brackets, esp as being irrelevant, spurious, or bearing a separate relationship of some kind to the rest of the text
to couple or join (two lines of text, etc) with a brace
(often foll by with) to group or class together: to bracket Marx with the philosophers
to adjust (artillery fire) until the target is hit
n.
v.