brick

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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

See brick defined for English-language learners

See brick defined for kids

Examples of brick in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of brick from the Web

Its sky is full of gantry cranes, stacking 20-foot-long shipping containers in multicoloured tessellations, like giant Lego bricks.

— The Economist, "The other handoverAn illustrious Hong Kong container firm sells to China," 15 July 2017
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York announced on Wednesday that Hobby Lobby has agreed to pay a $3 million fine and forfeit 5,500 Iraqi artifacts, including cuneiform tablets and bricks, clay bullae, and cylinder seals.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Hobby Lobby to Turn Over 5,500 Artifacts Smuggled Out of Iraq," 6 July 2017
On Sunday, friends and other doctors visited Dr. Tam’s home, a two-story brick house in the Hillcrest Estates neighborhood.

— rick rojas, New York Times, "Doctor Killed at Bronx Hospital a ‘Monumental Loss for Us’," 2 July 2017
Its opening meant the closure of Union Depot, as well as the towering, red-brick Grand Central Depot near the river at Third Street and Wyandotte, which was built in 1890.

— darryl levings, kansascity, "Before Union Station, two KC train stations bustled with lively characters and locomotion," 30 June 2017
The display also includes a dozen adobe bricks handmade by a local adobe builder to serve as an example of the traditional building material used to construct the houses on the ranch.

— linda mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Exhibit opens at old ranch of movie star," 30 June 2017
Amid the ongoing clamor of this fervent opposition, not a brick has been laid.

— vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, "Trump’s Border Wall Charade Limps Forward," 28 June 2017
The limited-edition matte, brick-red lip color is officially back in stock — but for a limited time only.

— sarah kinonen, Allure, "The Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Project Chimps Is Back in Stock (Updated)," 27 June 2017
Meanwhile, the fire department continues to probe the cause of the three-alarm fire, which displaced about 200 residents from a 55-unit brick complex in the 1300 block of Peabody Street on Saturday.

— faiz siddiqui, Washington Post, "Body discovered at site of massive apartment blaze in Northwest," 25 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brick.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of brick

Middle English bryke, from Middle Dutch bricke

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1525

See Words from the same year

brick Synonyms

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

Near Antonyms

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

brick

verb

Definition of brick

transitive verb

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

2 :to render (an electronic device, such as a smartphone) nonfunctional (as by accidental damage, malicious hacking, or software changes)

See brick defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of brick from the Web

Fearful store owners began bricking up their windows and installing barbed wire on the roofs, bars on the windows and Plexiglas shields between customers and clerks.

— bill mcgraw, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit 67: The deep scars the city still feels today," 29 July 2017
The big star of the story is a Mercedes-Benz 770K Grosser Tourenwagen that had been long-hidden in a bricked-up room on an estate supposedly owned by Adolf Hitler.

— mark maynard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "San Diego author’s 'CarAlity' novel hot-wires TV auction back side," 20 July 2017
If a scoundrel moves the ST1 X just a few feet, the onboard security system locks the rear wheel, which essentially bricks the bike.

— rene chun, WIRED, "Review: Stromer ST1 X," 15 July 2017
Gray said workers will brick several of the main streets, which the city will close off for events.

— lauren ritchie, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Clermont borrowing $30 million for huge spruce-up," 20 June 2017
Most hilariously, George publicly complained about C.J. Miles shooting a potential game-winner instead of himself in Game 1, only to absolutely brick a potential game-tying shot later in the series.

— rohan nadkarni, SI.com, "2017 NBA Playoffs: Biggest Winners And Losers," 13 June 2017
But the sharpshooter bricked the shot that will likely haunt his offseason memories.

— anthony slater, Orange County Register, "Warriors rally to beat Cavaliers, are one win from perfect playoff run," 7 June 2017
Love's lunging contest contributed to a crucial bricked 3-pointer.

— adam kilgore, chicagotribune.com, "Steph Curry is fully healthy, and both the Cavs and Warriors know it," 3 June 2017
His garage, which sits perpendicular to Bayside, has a bricked-over wall.

— hillary davis, Daily Pilot, "Newport could abandon plan to curb speeding on Bayside Drive with a roundabout," 5 May 2017

First Known Use of brick

1592

BRICK Defined for English Language Learners

brick

play

noun

Definition of brick for English Language Learners

: a small, hard block of baked clay that is used to build structures (such as houses) and sometimes to make streets, paths, etc.
: blocks of baked clay used as building material
: a block of something

BRICK Defined for Kids

brick

play

noun \ ˈbrik \

Definition of brick for Students

1 :a building or paving material made from clay molded into blocks and baked

2 :a block made of brick

brick

verb

Definition of brick for Students

bricked; bricking

:to close, face, or pave with bricks

Learn More about brick

See words that rhyme with brick Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for brick Spanish Central: Translation of 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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brick

Definition of brick

From the M-W Editors

Examples of brick in a Sentence

Recent Examples of brick from the Web

Origin and Etymology of brick

brick Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

brick

Definition of brick

Recent Examples of brick from the Web

First Known Use of brick

Phrases Related to BRICK

Related Phrases

BRICK Defined for English Language Learners

brick

Definition of brick for English Language Learners

BRICK Defined for Kids

brick

Definition of brick for Students

brick

Definition of brick for Students

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