often attributive
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 made 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
6
: a badly missed shot in basketball
he threw up a brick
bricked; bricking; bricks
1
: to close, face, or pave with bricks
—usually used with up, in, or over
brick up a doorway
brick over an opening
2
: to render (an electronic device, such as a smartphone) nonfunctional (as by accidental damage, malicious hacking, or software changes)
… those who dared hack the phone to add features … risked having it "bricked"—completely and permanently disabled—on the next automatic update …—
Jonathan Zittrain
Jonathan Zittrain3
basketball, informal
: to miss (a shot) very badly : to throw up a brick on (a shot) (see brick entry 1 sense 6)
brick a free throw
Synonyms
Examples of brick in a Sentence
Noun
a house made of brick
a brick of ice cream
children playing with wooden bricks
He has been an absolute brick.
Recent Examples on the WebDarcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2023
Rescuers feared that the region’s traditional mud brick homes reduced the chances of locating survivors as the earthquake caused the homes to crumble.
—Greg Wehner, Fox News, 11 Sep. 2023
Afterward, students and faculty will write on campus bricks the names of those who died in the attacks as well as the names of U.S. servicemembers who died fighting in wars afterward.
—Jeremy Redmon, ajc, 10 Sep. 2023
The ‘80s brought forth traditional two-story designs with brick touches, followed by a ‘90s emphasis on Craftsman elements.
—Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2023
Units responded to the scene on the 300 block of South Robinson Street — about a block away from Patterson Park — shortly after 5 p.m. and found heavy fire coming from the rear of a brick residence, fire department spokesperson Kevin Cartwright said.
—Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2023
Within days, a caravan of TV news trucks was rumbling through Marion’s business district, a modest collection of low-slung brick buildings.
—Jonathan O'Connell, Paul Farhi and Sofia Andrade, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Aug. 2023
The vehicle left the road near the 800 block of Kay Court, crossed a grassy area and crashed into the brick building, television news footage of the scene showed.
—Steve Thompson, Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2023
The first was a five-story brick building structured to hold 400 inmates in 1904, located in downtown Atlanta, according to their website.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 26 Aug. 2023
Hanna Zakharenko, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023
Alternately scalding and caressing the darkness, Curran’s designs glare across and define a space that is empty but for three ladders and five vertical lighting bars across the Almeida Theatre’s signature curved, brick back wall.
—David Benedict, Variety, 15 June 2023
For a half, the double-teaming worked, the Lakers forcing the ball out of his hands and to his teammates, who proceeded to brick open three-point try after open three-point try.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 25 Dec. 2022
But the role of the store continues to evolve dramatically and brick-and-mortar locations that cannot demonstrate a clear reason for being are becoming increasingly irrelevant (see moderate department stores, Bed, Bath & Beyond, et al).
—Steve Dennis, Forbes, 25 Jan. 2023
From inside the gates, the N.I.H. looks like any suburban college campus: rolling green hills, a busy shuttle bus, a smattering of buildings, mainly brick, with no especially coherent architectural theme.
—Beverly Gage, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2023
Burly backup center Robin Lopez checked in to give Cleveland an extra rebounder, as Mitchell was planning to intentionally brick the next freebie.
—Chris Fedor, cleveland, 3 Jan. 2023
Sincere lived with his aunt in a second-floor apartment on the city’s South Side, in a neighborhood of small single-family homes and brick two-flats.
—Reginald Dwayne Betts, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2022
The letter recounts how Billy’s great-grandfather was hired by an anonymous employer to brick up a room in the dead of night in the same building that now houses Myrna’s loft and bookshop.
—Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2022
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Noun
In 1840, Huffaker built the two-story brick home that still stands on the property.
—Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2023
Rescuers feared that the region’s traditional mud brick homes reduced the chances of locating survivors as the earthquake caused the homes to crumble.
—Greg Wehner, Fox News, 11 Sep. 2023
Afterward, students and faculty will write on campus bricks the names of those who died in the attacks as well as the names of U.S. servicemembers who died fighting in wars afterward.
—Jeremy Redmon, ajc, 10 Sep. 2023
The ‘80s brought forth traditional two-story designs with brick touches, followed by a ‘90s emphasis on Craftsman elements.
—Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2023
Units responded to the scene on the 300 block of South Robinson Street — about a block away from Patterson Park — shortly after 5 p.m. and found heavy fire coming from the rear of a brick residence, fire department spokesperson Kevin Cartwright said.
—Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2023
Within days, a caravan of TV news trucks was rumbling through Marion’s business district, a modest collection of low-slung brick buildings.
—Jonathan O'Connell, Paul Farhi and Sofia Andrade, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Aug. 2023
The vehicle left the road near the 800 block of Kay Court, crossed a grassy area and crashed into the brick building, television news footage of the scene showed.
—Steve Thompson, Washington Post, 26 Aug. 2023
The first was a five-story brick building structured to hold 400 inmates in 1904, located in downtown Atlanta, according to their website.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 26 Aug. 2023
Verb
Yum China Holdings, which owns KFC and Pizza Hut, plans to use AI to better connect online orders to brick and mortar stores.
—Hanna Zakharenko, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023
Alternately scalding and caressing the darkness, Curran’s designs glare across and define a space that is empty but for three ladders and five vertical lighting bars across the Almeida Theatre’s signature curved, brick back wall.
—David Benedict, Variety, 15 June 2023
For a half, the double-teaming worked, the Lakers forcing the ball out of his hands and to his teammates, who proceeded to brick open three-point try after open three-point try.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 25 Dec. 2022
But the role of the store continues to evolve dramatically and brick-and-mortar locations that cannot demonstrate a clear reason for being are becoming increasingly irrelevant (see moderate department stores, Bed, Bath & Beyond, et al).
—Steve Dennis, Forbes, 25 Jan. 2023
From inside the gates, the N.I.H. looks like any suburban college campus: rolling green hills, a busy shuttle bus, a smattering of buildings, mainly brick, with no especially coherent architectural theme.
—Beverly Gage, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2023
Burly backup center Robin Lopez checked in to give Cleveland an extra rebounder, as Mitchell was planning to intentionally brick the next freebie.
—Chris Fedor, cleveland, 3 Jan. 2023
Sincere lived with his aunt in a second-floor apartment on the city’s South Side, in a neighborhood of small single-family homes and brick two-flats.
—Reginald Dwayne Betts, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2022
The letter recounts how Billy’s great-grandfather was hired by an anonymous employer to brick up a room in the dead of night in the same building that now houses Myrna’s loft and bookshop.
—Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brick.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing brick
Dictionary Entries Near brick
Cite this Entry
“Brick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brick. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
brick
1 of 2 noun1
a
plural bricks or brick
: a building or paving material made from clay molded into blocks and baked
b
: a block made of brick
2
: a block shaped like a brick
a brick of ice cream
3
: a semisoft mild-flavored cheese
4
: a badly missed shot in basketball
brick
2 of 2 verb1
: to close, face, or pave with bricks
2
: to cause (an electronic device) to become nonfunctional (as by damage, hacking, or software changes)
More from Merriam-Webster on brick
Nglish: Translation of brick for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of brick for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about brick
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