a block of clay hardened by drying in the sun or burning in a kiln, and used for building, paving, etc.: traditionally, in the U.S., a rectangle 2.25 × 3.75 × 8 inches (5.7 × 9.5 × 20.3 centimeters), red, brown, or yellow in color.
such blocks collectively.
the material of which such blocks are made.
any block or bar having a similar size and shape: a gold brick; an ice-cream brick.
the length of a brick as a measure of thickness, as of a wall: one and a half bricks thick.
Informal. an admirably good or generous person.
Informal. an electronic device that has become completely nonfunctional.
verb (used with object)
to pave, line, wall, fill, or build with brick.
Informal. to cause (an electronic device) to become completely nonfunctional: I bricked my phone while doing the upgrade.
adjective
made of, constructed with, or resembling bricks.
Idioms for brick
drop a brick, to make a social gaffe or blunder, especially an indiscreet remark.
hit the bricks,
to walk the streets, especially as an unemployed or homeless person.
to go on strike: With contract talks stalled, workers are threatening to hit the bricks.
Also take to the bricks.
make bricks without straw,
to plan or act on a false premise or unrealistic basis.
to create something that will not last: To form governments without the consent of the people is to make bricks without straw.
to perform a task despite the lack of necessary materials.
Origin of brick
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English brike, from Middle Dutch bricke; akin to break
That’s a tall order right now for many brick-and-mortar retailers that were already under pressure and watched foot traffic disappear entirely as the country largely shut down in March in response to the pandemic threat.
That Whole Foods is an Amazon warehouse; get used to it|Connie Loizos|September 4, 2020|TechCrunch
Human bones were found buried beneath the platforms, including a stillborn foetus enclosed in a brick.
An Ancient Site with Human Skulls on Display - Issue 89: The Dark Side|Jo Marchant|September 2, 2020|Nautilus
Surprisingly, there aren’t many things I miss about a sticks-and-bricks home.
5 Portable Grills for All Your Outdoor Cooking Needs|Amy Marturana Winderl|September 2, 2020|Outside Online
HOUSTON — On an afternoon in mid-June, Analleli Solis was walking home from her brother’s house just down the street when she noticed someone she didn’t know retreating from the front door of her modest brick home.
The Loan Company That Sued Thousands of Low-Income Latinos During the Pandemic|by Kiah Collier, Ren Larson and Perla Trevizo|August 31, 2020|ProPublica
To check if this coherence time was really caused by the natural radiation, they built a giant shield out of lead brick that could block background radiation to see what happened when the qubits were isolated.
Could Quantum Computing Progress Be Halted by Background Radiation?|Edd Gent|August 31, 2020|Singularity Hub
It was a brick wall that we turned into the on-ramp of a highway.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Once a cadet dropped a brick from a third-story barracks window that barely missed Jackson.
Stonewall Jackson, VMI’s Most Embattled Professor|S. C. Gwynne|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Brooklyn is brick walls, little shops and industrial decoration.
How Brooklyn Invaded Paris—Next Stop, the World|Brandon Presser|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And in Italy, the 16th-century body of an old woman was dug up in 2006 with a brick in her mouth.
They use autoclaves, which work like pressure cookers, instead of brick ovens.
Grab A Shot Glass: Craft Tequila Needs Your Help|Kayleigh Kulp|September 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
About this time a brick came through the window with a splintering crash, and gave me a considerable of a jolt in the back.
Sketches New and Old, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
The slight noise in that quiet room sounded to Barney's ears like the fall of a brick wall.
The Mad King|Edgar Rice Burroughs
In addition, a brick structure, 46 by 30 ft., provided with a 60-ft.
Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXX, Dec. 1910|Herbert M. Wilson
And Hardwick is a brick; a really true, honest-hearted fellow.
A Son of Perdition|Fergus Hume
At one time it brought up in the mud a small stone half the size of an almond; and at another a fragment as large as a brick.
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph|Henry M. (Henry Martyn) Field
British Dictionary definitions for brick
brick
/ (brɪk) /
noun
a rectangular block of clay mixed with sand and fired in a kiln or baked by the sun, used in building construction
(as modifier)a brick house
the material used to make such blocks
any rectangular blocka brick of ice
bricks collectively
informala reliable, trustworthy, or helpful person
Britisha child's building block
short for brick red
drop a brickBritishinformalto make a tactless or indiscreet remark
like a ton of bricksinformal(used esp of the manner of punishing or reprimanding someone) with great force; severelywhen he spotted my mistake he came down on me like a ton of bricks
verb(tr)
(usually foll by in, up or over) to construct, line, pave, fill, or wall up with bricksto brick up a window; brick over a patio
slangto attack (a person) with a brick or bricks
Word Origin for brick
C15: from Old French brique, from Middle Dutch bricke; related to Middle Low German brike, Old English brecan to break