What does "brick" mean?
A hardened rectangular block of mud, clay etc., used for building.
Brick
/bɹɪk/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A hardened rectangular block of mud, clay etc., used for building.
- Grammar: brick is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: adamant, adobe, ashlar, asphalt.
- Useful contrasts: clapboard, clapboarding, clapboards.
- Usage evidence: Giving advice to him is like talking to a brick wall.
How to use "brick"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "brick" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "brick" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "brick" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "brick" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "brick" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adamant" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "brick", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A hardened rectangular block of mud, clay etc., used for building. countable
"This wall is made of bricks."
- 2 rectangular block of clay baked by the sun or in a kiln; used as a building or paving material wordnet
- 3 Such hardened mud, clay, etc. considered collectively, as a building material. uncountable
"This house is made of brick."
- 4 a good fellow; helpful and trustworthy wordnet
- 5 Something shaped like a brick. countable
"a plastic explosive brick"
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 The colour brick red. countable, uncountable
"The handyman considered the question and I knew she had a brick of ground beans in her bag but was considering whether the beds and a hot drink was worth a brick of coffee."
- 7 A helpful and reliable person. countable, dated, slang, uncountable
"Thanks for helping me wash the car. You’re a brick."
- 8 A shot which misses, particularly one which bounces directly out of the basket because of a too-flat trajectory, as if the ball were a heavier object. countable, slang, uncountable
"We can't win if we keep throwing up bricks from three-point land."
- 9 A power brick; an external power supply consisting of a small box with an integral male plug and an attached cord terminating in another plug. countable, informal, uncountable
- 10 An electronic device, especially a heavy box-shaped one, that has become non-functional or obsolete. countable, figuratively, slang, uncountable
- 11 A projectile. UK, countable, slang, uncountable
"I was on deck watching the firing, and looking at the direction in which our guns were pointing, it was obvious that it was not going to be Centurion who was going to receive our bricks."
- 12 A carton of 500 rimfire cartridges, which forms the approximate size and shape of a brick. countable, uncountable
- 13 A community card (usually the turn or the river) which does not improve a player's hand. countable, slang, uncountable
"The two of clubs was a complete brick on the river."
- 14 A kilogram of cocaine. countable, slang, uncountable
"I can sell bricks, I don't need to rap / Buj so peng it makes the fiends collapse / Cook that coca into crack / I was selling Zs while you was in your bed"
- 15 A trans woman who does not pass. countable, derogatory, offensive, uncountable
"Was she like you—a brick, never passed, never gonna?"
- 16 A reel or short video. countable, slang, uncountable
"I built up this feed brick by brick."
Verb
- 1 To build, line, or form with bricks. transitive
"to be bricked alive (as a form of capital punishment)"
- 2 To stop working (of an electronic device) wordnet
- 3 To make into bricks. transitive
"The plant, which is here described, for bricking fine ores and flue dust, was designed and the plans produced in the engineering department of the Selby smelter."
- 4 To hit someone or something with a brick. slang, transitive
- 5 To make (an electronic device) non-functional and usually beyond repair, as a result of software or configuration issues. slang, transitive
"My VCR was bricked during the lightning storm."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Of an electronic device, to become non-functional, especially in a way beyond repair, as a result of software or configuration issues. intransitive, slang
"My phone bricked halfway through the videoconference."
- 7 To blunder; to screw up. intransitive, slang
Adjective
- 1 Extremely cold. New-York, colloquial, not-comparable
"And while the tropics are definitely the place to be when it's brick outside, rocking a snorkel on the beach only works when you're snorkeling."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"Giving advice to him is like talking to a brick wall."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "brick"?
Common synonyms include: adamant, adobe, ashlar, asphalt, biscuit, bisque.
How do you use "brick" in a sentence?
Giving advice to him is like talking to a brick wall.
How do you pronounce "brick"?
Pronounced /bɹɪk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Late Middle English brik, bryke, bricke, from Middle Low German and Middle Dutch bricke ("cracked or broken brick; tile-stone"; modern Dutch brik), ultimately related to Proto-West Germanic *brekan (“to break”), whence also Old French briche and French brique (“brick”). Compare also German Low German Brickje (“small board, tray”). Related to break. The social media slang sense derives from memes about building up one's feed “brick by brick”, analogizing bricks with reels that inform the algorithm.
Etymology 2
* As an English surname, from the noun bridge. This aligns more closely with the pronunciation of its ancestors, Middle English brigge, Old English brycg. * As a Polish surname, from Brych, which has the same pronunciation.