brick-and-mortar

adjective

brick-and-mor·​tar ˈbrik-ən(d)-ˈmȯr-tər 

variants or bricks-and-mortar

: relating to or being a traditional business serving customers in a building as contrasted to an online business

a brick-and-mortar store

Examples of brick-and-mortar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Camp East Montana holds an average of 2,954 detainees inside its soft-sided tent-style structure, which ICE increasingly favors over brick-and-mortar buildings. —Nicole Acevedo, NBC news, 4 Mar. 2026

Since then, the shop’s ceiling has been replaced, and Molina is working on trying to replace the floor — while continuing to stage pop-ups and sell merchandise online — before fully reopening the bricks-and-mortar boutique this spring. —Solvej Schou, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026

Caesars offers betting action on the Rockets at both its online and brick-and-mortar sportsbooks. —Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 2 Mar. 2026

This marks its first brick-and-mortar shop. —Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for brick-and-mortar

• colporteur
• exporter
• headquarter
• importer
• reporter
• supporter
• transporter
• mortar
• quarter
• shorter
• sorter