brick

1 of 2

noun

ˈbrik 

often attributive

1

plural bricks or brick : a handy-sized unit of building or paving material typically being rectangular and about 2¼ × 3¾ × 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

5

: gaffe, blunder

—used especially in the phrase drop a brick

6

: a badly missed shot in basketball

he threw up a brick

brick

2 of 2

verb

bricked; bricking; bricks

transitive verb

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

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 of brick

Noun

• mistake
• error
• blunder

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

The four-story, brick-faced building was constructed in 1926 as the Hamline Hotel and later renamed the Kimball Hotel, which holds at least a small place in the historical run-up to the civil rights era. —Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026

In South Park, off Brownsville Road, there's a brick building holding a tiny slice of Jurassic Park. —Megan Shinn, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2026

Verb

The biggest problem at first was reliability and fixability, as consumers worried that batteries would die and brick their vehicles. —Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 24 Feb. 2026

Flashing the custom firmware could completely brick the thermostats, so Kociemba warns against using it on a thermostat that is critical for heating or cooling needs. —PC Magazine, 11 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English bryke, from Middle Dutch bricke

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing brick

• brick-and-mortar
• brick red
• brick up
• brick wall
• clinker brick
• drop a brick

Rhymes for brick

• bick
• chick
• click
• fick
• flick
• hick
• kick
• knick
• lick
• mic
• nick
• pic

Kids Definition

brick

1 of 2 noun

ˈbrik 

1

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 verb

1

: to close, face, or pave with bricks

2

: to cause (an electronic device) to become nonfunctional (as by damage, hacking, or software changes)