Braintree is a town of about 42,000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It is ten miles north-east of Chelmsford and fifteen miles west of Colchester on the River Blackwater, A120 road and a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line.

Braintree has grown contiguous with several surrounding settlements: Braintree proper lies to the south of Stane Street, and Bocking lies to the north. The two together can be referred to as Braintree and Bocking, although most people refer to them together as "Braintree".

Braintree is twinned with the French town of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine.Braintree, Massachusetts, United States, was named after the town in 1640.

Braintree is located at the junction of two Roman roads:  one coming from the county town of Chelmsford, about ten miles or so to the south-west, and the other (known as Stane Street (St Albans) running westwards to Great Dunmow, and eastwards to Colchester. Stane Street was a main road (the A120) until the bypass system was built in the late 20th century.

The origin of the name Braintree is obscure. It is believed by some scholars that the name of the River Brain came later, and so was named after the town, rather than the other way round. One theory is that Braintree was originally Branoc's tree, Branoc apparently being an old personal name. Another theory is that the name is derived from that of Rayne, which was actually a more important settlement in Norman times. Braintree was called Branchetreu in the Domesday Book. Other scholars say the "Brain" element in the word is accepted to be derived from "Brid/ Brigantia/ Bride/ Bigit/ Britain". This is the ancient Celtic, and possibly pre-Celtic, name for the Goddess of the land of Britain. She is the reason the Romans called these islands "Britannia". She was worshipped all across the North of Britain in Roman times. The River Braint in Anglesey is another one of these names. "Tree" comes from the Saxon suffix, more usually spelt "try", denoting a big village In many early American Colonial documents, it is referred to as Branktry. The perhaps most convincing theory, the 'Theory of the Walnuts' suggests that the town, or the river, got its name 'brain' from the abundance of walnut trees growing in the area.

The wool industry was important to the town for centuries, but silk manufacture became the dominant industry in the 19th century, thanks to George Courtauld's silk mill, which he opened in 1809.

Famous people from Braintree

• Malcolm McFee, (1949-2001), British Actor born in Forest Gate, Newham played Peter Craven in Please Sir! 1968-1971 & 'The Fenn Street Gang' 1972-1973
• Lawrence D Hills founded the Henry Doubleday Research Association headquarters and test site at Bocking, and also developed the Bocking 14 strain of comfrey, which has properties of particular interest to organic gardeners.
• The naturalist John Ray (1627 - 1705), born in nearby Black Notley, is perhaps the most talked about local person, among historians.
• The Courtauld family were one of the most prominent families of Braintree and Bocking during the 19th century. Their highly successful silk business made them very rich, and provided much employment in the area.
• Sir Evelyn Wood, (1838 – 1919), British Field marshal, Victoria Cross recipient.
• Katherine Parnell, younger sister of Sir Evelyn Wood, and wife and downfall of Irish Nationalist leader, Charles Parnell.
• The Prodigy, a famous dance music group, are probably Braintree's best known export in recent years. The band's leader Liam Howlett was the cause of much indignation among some residents when he criticised the town in an interview for the music magazine Q. He reportedly used "an abusive term" . He and fellow band member Keith Flint moved out of the town around 1998, to live in seclusion in a small village five or six miles to the west. Now living just outside of Harlow, Essex.
• Avant-Garde / experimental composer and musician Barry Douglas Lamb, lived in Braintree following the demise of the insane picnic from 1989–1993. Although this appears to have been a period of very little musical output on his part, there is an unofficial recording from the period called "Braintree - the concubine harvester".
• Steve Harley, singer/composer and founder of Cockney Rebel, lived in Bradford Street, Braintree, from 1969 to 1971. He worked as a reporter for the Braintree and Witham Times under his real name Stephen Nice. The novelist Jay Merrick, author of The Horse Latitudes, worked on the newspaper at the same time under his real name John Thompson.
• Andrew Phillips, Baron Phillips of Sudbury, noted politician and lawyer in the field of civil liberties lived in Bradford Street, Braintree for much of the 1980s
• Giles Long MBE, Triple Paralympic Gold medallist and former World Record holder in the 100m Butterfly lived in Braintree from 1979 to 1994, briefly returning in 2007. He swam for Braintree and Bocking Swimming Club 1986 to 1996.