brick

noun, often attributive

\ ˈbrik

Definition of brick

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

brick

verb

bricked; bricking; bricks

Definition of brick (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

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

3 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 More Example Sentences Learn More about brick

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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 Web: Noun

Digital storefronts like Steam and Xbox Live selling digital versions of the latest games replaced brick-and-mortar storefronts selling physical ones. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "Google's 'Stadia' Is the Latest Attack in the War on Games You Can Actually Own," 19 Mar. 2019 One layer reads pinky-brown, while a second takes it into brick-red territory. — Rachel Nussbaum, Glamour, "Too Faced's Gingerbread Lipstick Is the Only Thing I Want to Wear All Winter," 6 Nov. 2018 The retailer is also in the midst of remodeling the majority of its existing locations, proving that even if brick and mortar stores are struggling as a whole, Target is here to stay. — Maggie Burch, House Beautiful, "Your Local Target Could Be One Of The Locations Closing By February 2019," 31 Oct. 2018 Outside, brick-terraced landscaping compliments a waterfall, pond, and extensive greenery, making this redwood giant look a bit like a castle in the forest. — Megan Barber, Curbed, "Castle-like postmodern curiosity asks $765K," 23 Oct. 2018 For generations of Americans, the brick-like Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog was a fixture in just about every house — a miscellany of toys and clothes and furnishings and hardware that induced longing for this or that dream purchase. — Allen G. Breed, The Seattle Times, "Girdles and socket wrenches: Sears was the Amazon of its day," 16 Oct. 2018 Today, the world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer has taken a small step in that direction by agreeing to acquire Eloquii, a four-year-old startup that makes and sells its own line of plus-sized women’s fashion primarily through its own website. — Jason Del Rey, Recode, "Walmart plans to acquire plus-sized fashion startup Eloquii for $100 million," 2 Oct. 2018 In terms of design, Aukey's hub is just more cumbersome to use thanks to its brick-like shape. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Guidemaster: Picking the right Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C dock for your desk," 3 July 2018 About 90 percent of the company's sales are in brick-and-mortar retailers, LaFond said. — Sarah Hauer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "This natural deodorant made on a Wisconsin family farm sells for $7 a stick at Whole Foods," 19 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

This isn’t the first time Logitech’s had to make amends: the company decided to brick the Harmony Hub’s predecessor last March, and agreed to give every owner a free Harmony Hub to deal with that backlash. — Sean Hollister, The Verge, "Logitech pulls 180, will un-break third-party Harmony home automation," 21 Dec. 2018 Deary gutted the place to brick and studs himself, then moved walls to open it up, most notably in the master bath, where now no walls exist at all. — Kathleen Hackett, ELLE Decor, "Keri Russell at Home," 5 May 2011 This isn't the first time Logitech has essentially bricked one of its own devices. — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Logitech disables local access on Harmony Hubs, breaks automation systems [Update]," 19 Dec. 2018 Apple Watch owners can rest assured that today’s update is specifically built not to brick their devices. — Dami Lee, The Verge, "watchOS 5.1.1 is out now, and it will no longer brick your Apple Watch," 5 Nov. 2018 In Instacart’s case, it’s by being the chief ally to brick-and-mortar retailers in a $1 trillion industry where e-commerce sales are growing 29 percent year-over-year, but still account for no more than 5 percent of total sales. — Jason Del Rey, Recode, "Instacart’s new $7 billion valuation is a bet on the future of grocery delivery — not a wager against Amazon," 16 Oct. 2018 With just over a minute left, Redick bricked a wide-open three from the left wing, a shot that would have given the Sixers a five-point lead. — Rohan Nadkarni, SI.com, "Celtics Finish Sixers, Earn Rematch With LeBron in Conference Finals," 10 May 2018 His first season in Oklahoma City ended on a massive thud, with him bricking his way through the end of a first-round exit, and his return has helped push his team’s payroll well above the luxury-tax line. — Ben Golliver, SI.com, "2018 NBA Free Agency: The Early Winners And Losers," 5 July 2018 The new recommendation comes weeks after reports that some Switch systems were getting bricked after being updated to recent firmware and plugged in to third-party docks from the likes of Nyko. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Nintendo warns against using substandard Switch charging cables," 6 Apr. 2018

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.