noun B1 Intermediate Common

brick

BRIHK

Brick (noun) means a hard rectangular block of baked clay or similar material, used for building walls. Example: “The old cottage was built from red brick over a century ago.”

noun

A hard rectangular block of baked clay or similar material, used for building walls.

"The old cottage was built from red brick over a century ago."

"They laid a fresh course of bricks along the garden wall."

Slang: an electronic device that has stopped working entirely, especially after a failed update.

"A botched firmware update turned his router into an expensive brick."

Slang: a compact block-shaped unit of something, such as a kilogram of a drug or an external power adapter.

"The laptop's charger has a bulky brick in the middle of the cable."

verb

To ruin an electronic device so badly that it becomes permanently unusable.

"Installing the wrong software update can brick your phone."

To build or line something with bricks.

"The workers bricked up the old doorway."

How to use brick

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA building block made of baked clay, or informally, anything that becomes uselessly dead (especially gadgets).

Common mistake

The "ruin a device" sense is informal tech slang, not standard written English — keep it out of formal writing.

Common pairings

a brick wall brick by brick brick a phone lay bricks

Word forms

bricked past tense, bricks plural, Bricks plural, bricks singular

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The old cottage was built from red _____ over a century ago.

Etymology

From late Middle English brik/bryke, borrowed from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German words for a broken tile or slab, ultimately linked to "break" — a brick was originally thought of as a shaped, broken-off piece.

Origin: Middle English

Synonyms

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block

Related words

hit stuff bar mass block prevent ban dam

Rhymes for brick

ick dick tick kick nick sick pick rick wick mick hick lick

See all rhymes for brick →

Frequently asked questions

What does “brick” mean?

The word “brick” means a hard rectangular block of baked clay or similar material, used for building walls. In plain terms, a building block made of baked clay, or informally, anything that becomes uselessly dead (especially gadgets).

How do you pronounce “brick”?

“Brick” is pronounced BRIHK (/ˈbɹɪk/ in IPA).

How do you use “brick” in a sentence?

Here is “brick” used in a sentence: “The old cottage was built from red brick over a century ago.”

What part of speech is “brick”?

Depending on how it is used, “brick” can be a noun and a verb.

Where does the word “brick” come from?

The word “brick” comes from Middle English. From late Middle English brik/bryke, borrowed from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German words for a broken tile or slab, ultimately linked to "break" — a brick was originally thought of as a shaped, broken-off piece.

Is “brick” a common word?

“Brick” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

How many meanings does “brick” have?

“Brick” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a hard rectangular block of baked clay or similar material, used for building walls.

What is the difference between a "brick" and a "block"?

A brick is a hard rectangular block of baked clay or similar material used for building walls, typically small enough to hold in one hand. "Block" is more general and often refers to larger units, such as concrete blocks, which are bigger than standard bricks.

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