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

Particularly since the savings made in service-staff costs and brick-and-mortar bar space, not to mention the affordability of buying booze here in China's RMB currency, aren't that far off grabbing a can or bottle from a nearby 24-hour convenience store. —New Atlas, 8 May 2026

Also on par with other brick-and-mortar stores launched by tech companies, this store will be a destination for people with questions. —Roxana Popescu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2026

To date, the brick-and-mortar locations account for 5 percent of La Bonne Brosse’s sales. —Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 8 May 2026

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenues increased 23%, with strong digital growth of 25%, and 20% growth in global bricks-and-mortar. —Emily Forkan, Vogue, 7 May 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