Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense, plural bricks, present participle bricking, past tense, past participle bricked
1. variable noun
Bricks are rectangular blocks of baked clay used for building walls, which are usually red or brown. Brick is the material made up of these blocks.
She built bookshelves out of bricks and planks.
...a tiny garden surrounded by high brick walls.
2. singular noun [aNOUN]
If you say that someone is a brick, you mean that they have helped you or supported you when you were in a difficult situation.
[informal, old-fashioned]
You were a brick, a real friend in need.
Synonyms: kind person, good sort, salt of the earth, star More Synonyms of brick
3.
See be banging one's head against a brick wall
4.
See hit/come up against a brick wall
5.
See bricks and mortar
6. to come down on somebody like a ton of bricks
Phrasal verbs:
See brick up
brick in British English
(brɪk)
noun
1.
a.
a rectangular block of clay mixed with sand and fired in a kiln or baked by the sun, used in building construction
b.
(as modifier)
a brick house
2.
the material used to make such blocks
3.
any rectangular block
a brick of ice
4.
bricks collectively
5. informal
a reliable, trustworthy, or helpful person
6. British
a child's building block
7. slang
an obsolete or nonfunctioning electronic device
8. short for brick red
9. drop a brick
10. like a ton of bricks
verb(transitive)
11. (usually foll byin, up, or over)
to construct, line, pave, fill, or wall up with bricks
to brick up a window
brick over a patio
12. slang
to attack (a person) with a brick or bricks
13. slang
to render (an electronic device) useless by altering the software installed on it
Word origin
C15: from Old French brique, from Middle Dutch bricke; related to Middle Low German brike, Old English brecan to break
Brick in American English
(brɪk)
urban township in E N.J.: pop. 76,000
Word origin
orig. a place where bricks were made
brick in American English
(brɪk)
noun
1.
a substance made from clay molded into oblong blocks and fired in a kiln or baked in the sun, used in building, paving, etc.
2.
one of these blocks, of any of various standard sizes
3.
bricks collectively
4.
anything shaped like a brick
5. Informal, Obsolete
a fine person
adjective
6.
built or paved with brick
7.
like brick
brick red
verb transitive
8.
to face, pave, etc. with brick
Idioms:
brick up
hit the bricks
make bricks without straw
Word origin
ME brike < MDu < breken, break (in sense “piece of baked clay”) & MFr brique < OFr, of same orig.
More idioms containing
brick
be banging your head against a brick wall
drop a brick
come up against a brick wall
Examples of 'brick' in a sentence
brick
The blast blew out the windows and some bricks of the cathedral.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Or she would throw bricks at the garden fence.
The Sun (2016)
This led to new building techniques, including the widespread use of brick.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The simple red brick carries the brand's name and comes in a white cardboard box.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
A spacious red brick building with 83 bright and airy rooms.
The Sun (2016)
The windows on the brick building are all covered up.
Christianity Today (2000)
Will you use small brick paving or large rectangular slabs?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
At times he must have felt like he was battering his head against a brick wall.
The Sun (2014)
The mellow timbers and exposed brick walls add period charm to a slick revamp.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The houses were red brick and all looked exactly the same.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The vast red brick building was also the last stop for a host of other famous names.
The Sun (2011)
Onlookers said the wood and brick building was ablaze in minutes.
The Sun (2008)
Meanwhile devoted fans have used brick sets to make thousands of online animations.
The Sun (2015)
We heard them tear at the air around our ears and smack into the clay brick and concrete.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In particular, bricks and concrete blocks were in short supply.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It features all six films, all your favourite characters and all the classic scenes made out of the tiny bricks.
The Sun (2008)
In other languages
brick
British English: brick /brɪk/ NOUN
Bricks are rectangular blocks of baked clay used for building walls.
...a huge brick building.
American English: brick
Arabic: طوبَة
Brazilian Portuguese: tijolo
Chinese: 砖
Croatian: cigla
Czech: cihla
Danish: mursten
Dutch: baksteen
European Spanish: ladrillo
Finnish: tiili
French: brique construction
German: Ziegel
Greek: τούβλο
Italian: mattone
Japanese: 煉瓦
Korean: 벽돌
Norwegian: murstein
Polish: cegła
European Portuguese: tijolo
Romanian: cărămidă
Russian: кирпич
Latin American Spanish: ladrillo
Swedish: tegelsten
Thai: อิฐ
Turkish: tuğla
Ukrainian: цегла
Vietnamese: gạch
All related terms of 'brick'
air brick
a ceramic or metal unit the size of a brick , open at the sides for admitting air to a building interior
brick red
a reddish-brown colour
brick up
If you brick up a hole , you close it with a wall of bricks.
Bath brick
a brick-shaped piece of calcareous earth , used for cleaning polished metal
brick-built
made of bricks
brick-kiln
a kiln in which blocks of clay are baked into bricks
brick wall
a wall made out of brick
gold brick
something with only a superficial appearance of value
Lego brick
a toy plastic brick with studs which can be connected to other plastic bricks and used to construct toy buildings, vehicles , etc
brick cheese
a ripened , semisoft American cheese shaped like a brick and containing many small holes
brick veneer
(in Australia) a timber-framed house with a brick exterior
clinker brick
the ash and partially fused residues from a coal-fired furnace or fire
drop a brick
to say something that upsets or offends other people
hit a brick wall
unable to continue or make progress because of a hindrance
yellow brick road
→ the yellow brick road
redbrick
In Britain, a redbrick university is one of the universities that were established in large cities outside London in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as opposed to much older universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.
glass block
a translucent , hollow or solid block of glass for glazing openings or constructing partitions , usually square on the face, with the outer surfaces treated in any of various ways
the yellow brick road
the road to success or happiness (in the film the Wizard of Oz the yellow brick road leads to Oz)
it's London to a brick
it is certain
built like a brick shithouse
having a large and powerful physique
come up against a brick wall
to arrive at a situation in which something is stopping you from doing what you want and preventing you from making any progress
hit/come up against a brick wall
If you hit a brick wall or come up against a brick wall , you are unable to continue or make progress because something stops you.
banging one's head against a brick wall
persisting with doing or saying something despite continued unsuccessful results
bang one's head against a brick wall
to try to achieve something impossible
clinker
the ash and partially fused residues from a coal-fired furnace or fire
klinker
the ash and partially fused residues from a coal-fired furnace or fire
be banging one's head against a brick wall
If you are banging your head against a brick wall , what you are saying or doing is not having any effect although you keep saying or doing it.
be banging your head against a brick wall
to feel frustrated because someone is stopping you from making progress in what you are trying to do
to bang your head against a brick wall
If you say that you are banging your head against a wall , you are emphasizing that you are frustrated because someone is stopping you from making progress in something.
drop something or someone like a hot potato
to get rid of something or someone as quickly as possible because they are difficult to deal with, or because you do not want them any more
Chinese translation of 'brick'
brick
(brɪk)
n(c/u)
(for building) 砖(磚) (zhuān) (块(塊), kuài)
(noun)
Definition
a reliable, trustworthy, or helpful person
(informal)
You were a brick, a real friend when I was in need.