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
6
: a badly missed shot in basketball
he threw up a brick
bricked; bricking; bricks
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
Jonathan Zittrain3
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
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 WebDorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 18 Apr. 2024
Medical bills pile up like fallen bricks, lost wages create a financial chasm, and the path to recovery can feel shrouded in uncertainty.
—Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for brick 
Noun
Young builders can also get creative with a pastel-hued box of Lego bricks.
—Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 18 Apr. 2024
Medical bills pile up like fallen bricks, lost wages create a financial chasm, and the path to recovery can feel shrouded in uncertainty.
—Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for brick
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brick.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near brick
Cite this Entry
“Brick.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brick. Accessed 4 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
brick
1 of 2 noun1
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 verb1
: to close, face, or pave with bricks
2
: to cause (an electronic device) to become nonfunctional (as by damage, hacking, or software changes)
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