brick

¹brick

noun, often attributive \ˈbrik\

Definition of BRICK

1

plural bricks or brick : a handy-sized unit of building or paving material typically being rectangular and about 2¹⁄₄ × 3³⁄₄ × 8 inches (57 × 95 × 203 millimeters) and of moist clay hardened by heat

2

: a good-hearted person

3

: a rectangular compressed mass (as of ice cream)

4

: a semisoft cheese with numerous small holes, smooth texture, and often mild flavor

5

: gaffe, blunder —used especially in the phrase drop a brick

6

: a badly missed shot in basketball <he threw up a brick>

Examples of BRICK

1. a house made of brick
2. a brick of ice cream
3. children playing with wooden bricks
4. He has been an absolute brick.

Origin of BRICK

Middle English bryke, from Middle Dutch bricke

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to BRICK

Synonyms

blunder, bobble, boob [British], boo-boo, error, clanger [British], clinker, fault, flub, fluff, fumble, gaff, gaffe, goof, inaccuracy, lapse, miscue, misstep, mistake, oversight, screwup, slip, slipup, stumble, trip

Related Words

bloomer, blooper, boner, howler, pratfall; foul-up, snafu; misapprehension, miscalculation, miscomprehension, misconception, misconstruction, miscue, misdescription, misimpression, misinterpretation, misjudgment, misreading, misstatement, misunderstanding

Near Antonyms

accuracy, correctness, exactitude, exactness, preciseness, precision, strictness; inerrancy, infallibility, perfection

Rhymes with BRICK

chick, click, crick, creek, Dick, flick, Frick, hick, kick, KWIC, lick, mick, nick, pic, pick, prick, quick, rick, Schick, shtick, sic, sick, slick, snick, stick, thick, tic, tick, trick, wick

²brick

transitive verb

Definition of BRICK

: to close, face, or pave with bricks —usually used with up, in, or over

First Known Use of BRICK

1592

brick

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Small building unit in the form of a rectangular block, first produced in a sun-dried form at least 6,000 years ago. Clay, the basic ingredient, is mined from open pits, formed, and then fired in a kiln to produce strength, hardness, and heat resistance. Brick was the chief building material in the ancient Near East. Its versatility was expanded in ancient Rome by improvements in manufacture and by new techniques of bonding. Brick came to be widely used in Western Europe for the protection it offered against fire. See also masonry, mortar.