brick

1 of 2

noun

ˈbrik 

often attributive

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 made 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

brick

2 of 2

verb

bricked; bricking; bricks

transitive verb

1

: to close, face, or pave with bricks

—usually used with up, in, or over

brick up a doorway

brick over an opening

2

: to render (an electronic device, such as a smartphone) nonfunctional (as by accidental damage, malicious hacking, or software changes)

… those who dared hack the phone to add features … risked having it "bricked"—completely and permanently disabled—on the next automatic update …

—Jonathan Zittrain

3

basketball, informal : to miss (a shot) very badly : to throw up a brick on (a shot) (see brick entry 1 sense 6)

brick a free throw

Synonyms

Noun

• blunder
• bobble
• boo-boo
• boob [British]
• clanger [British]
• clinker
• error
• fault
• flub
• fluff
• fumble
• gaff
• gaffe
• goof
• inaccuracy
• lapse
• miscue
• misstep
• mistake
• oversight
• screwup
• slip
• slipup
• stumble
• trip

Examples of brick in a Sentence

Noun

a house made of brick

a brick of ice cream

children playing with wooden bricks

He has been an absolute brick.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

This would all happen before 8 a.m., and the rest of the day was spent with Lego bricks, painting, or Oobleck, capped off by a movie watched from under a pile of blankets that may or may not have been a fort. —Ali Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Dec. 2024

In 2014, Patek released the reference in steel, and on a brick road style bracelet, and even used a high contrast white with black accents dial. —Blake Buettner, Robb Report, 6 Dec. 2024

Verb

Instead, Samsung concentrated on making sure people weren't still using the Note 7, even resorting to pushing out updates to all Note 7 phones to brick the devices. —Tim Moynihan, WIRED, 23 Jan. 2017

The announcement of price changes follows Spotify's recent decision this December to brick its Car Thing hardware after releasing it to the general public in February 2022. —Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 3 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English bryke, from Middle Dutch bricke

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing brick

• brick-and-mortar
• brick red
• brick up
• brick wall
• built like a brick shithouse
• clinker brick
• drop a brick

Kids Definition

brick

1 of 2 noun

ˈbrik 

1

a

plural bricks or brick : a building or paving material made from clay molded into blocks and baked

b

: a block made of brick

2

: a block shaped like a brick

a brick of ice cream

3

: a semisoft mild-flavored cheese

4

: a badly missed shot in basketball

brick

2 of 2 verb

1

: to close, face, or pave with bricks

2

: to cause (an electronic device) to become nonfunctional (as by damage, hacking, or software changes)