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

Sales across the company’s retail segments — comprising bricks-and-mortar, the brand website, and online concessions — were down 8% to €516 million, while wholesale and licenses both fell 2% to €406 million and €24 million, respectively. — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 3 Nov. 2026

While the bulk of the business continues to be online, Paul Fredrick has one brick-and-mortar store at the Town Center at Boca Raton in Florida that opened last year. — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 2 Nov. 2026

But perhaps more significantly, the shops and storefronts in the next-door buildings that Lovley and Valenti put up previously appear to be thriving despite generally tough times for new bricks-and-mortar locations. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 1 Nov. 2026

Though the brick-and-mortar location is months away from opening its doors, Kingsley has the 700-square-foot interior already planned out. — Kansas City Star, 30 Oct. 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