Dictionary
Thesaurus
Medical
Scrabble®
Spanish Central
Browse DictionaryBrowse Thesaurus
Get our free apps!iPhone•iPad•Android
Games
Word of the Day
Video
Blog: Words at Play
My Faves
Dictionary

1brick

noun, often attributive \ˈbrik\

: 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

Full 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
ADVERTISEMENT

Origin of BRICK

Middle English bryke, from Middle Dutch bricke
First Known Use: 15th century

Related to BRICK

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

Rhymes with BRICK

chick, click, crick, creek, Dick, flick, Frick, hick, kick, KWIC, lick, mick, nick, pic, pick, prick, quick, rick, Schick, shtick, sic, sick, slick, snick, stick, thick, tic, tick, trick, wick

2brick

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

First Known Use of BRICK

1592
BRICK Defined for Kids

1brick

noun \ˈbrik\

Definition of BRICK for Kids

1
:  a building or paving material made from clay molded into blocks and baked
2
:  a block made of brick

2brick

verb
brickedbrick·ing

Definition of BRICK for Kids

:  to close, face, or pave with bricks

Learn More About BRICK

Browse

72 ENTRIES FOUND:
  1. brick
  2. brick-and-mortar
  3. brick beam
  4. brick cheese
  5. brick chisel
  6. brick earth
  7. brick hammer
  8. brick nog
  9. brick red
  10. brick set
  11. brick stitch
  12. brick sugar
  13. brick tea
  14. brick trimmer
  15. brick trowel
  16. brick veneer
  17. brick wall
  18. air brick
  19. angle brick
  20. arch brick
  21. ashlar brick
  22. Bath brick
  23. blue brick
  24. checker-brick
  25. chrome brick
  26. circle brick
  27. common brick
  28. compass brick
  29. Dinas brick
  30. enameled brick
Next Word in the Dictionary: brick–and–mortarPrevious Word in the Dictionary: brichtenAll Words Near: brick
ADVERTISEMENT
10 Charming Words for Nasty People
Put-downs with flair
Learn More
When "Literally" isn't, well, literal
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.
Watch Now
Know what this is?
Test your vocab with our fun, fast game
Go Play
Fear of cats?
Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears
Learn More
Join Us
Merriam-Webster
on Facebook
Merriam-Webster
on Twitter
Bookstore: Digital and Print
Merriam-Webster references for Mobile, Kindle, print, and more.
See All
Other Merriam-Webster Dictionaries