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

Villa's Tacos is a true grassroots effort, started out of his grandma's house in 2018 before evolving into a pop-up, then a brick-and-mortar location, followed by two more. —Andrés Soto, USA Today, 19 Feb. 2026

Cerda is working to change that with the opening of Mercado Popular, a new brick-and-mortar farm store in downtown Hartford focused on expanding fresh food access and supporting Connecticut farmers of color. —Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 18 Feb. 2026

Jackson opened her first brick-and-mortar in 2018 after many successful years as a caterer. —John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026

Gwyn’s online shelves are refreshed monthly, and inventory can also be found at the eight brick-and-mortar Goop outposts in Aspen, Brentwood, New York’s Bond Street, and beyond. —Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 18 Feb. 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