bricks-and-mortar


bricks and mortar

1. noun A phrase used to refer to buildings collectively and non-specifically. I think the hospital is too focused on funding bricks and mortar—the construction here has been going on for far too long.2. adjective Fundamental and necessary. In this usage, the phrase is usually hyphenated. The candidate has yet to state the bricks-and-mortar components of his economic plan.See also: and, brick, mortar

bricks-and-mortar

Referring to a physical location for something, typically a business (usually as opposed to an online destination). You can order these shoes online or pick them up in one of our convenient bricks-and-mortar locations.

bricks and mortar

buildings; the expenditure of money on buildings rather than something else. (The buildings referred to can be constructed out of anything.) The new president of the college preferred to invest in new faculty members rather than bricks and mortar. Sometimes people are happy to donate millions of dollars for bricks and mortar, but they never think of the additional cost of annual maintenance.See also: and, brick, mortar

bricks and mortar

Basic and essential, as in Matthew Arnold's essay (1865): "Margate, that bricks-and-mortar image of British Protestantism." This phrase transfers essential building materials to other fundamental matters. It also may be used more literally to denote a building or buildings (whether or not made of bricks and mortar), as in The alumni prefer to see their donations in the form of bricks and mortar. [Mid-1800s] See also: and, brick, mortar

bricks and ˈmortar

a building, especially when you are thinking of it in connection with how much it cost to build or how much it is worth: A home isn’t just bricks and mortar.We now need funding to turn the plans into bricks and mortar.The modern way of doing business through the Internet as well as from buildings and shops can be referred to as clicks and mortar, where ‘clicks’ refers to the use of the mouse and the Internet.See also: and, brick, mortar