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brick

verb

  1. face, pave with brick
L21744 on Wikidata ↗

noun

  1. block or a single unit of a ceramic material used in masonry construction
  2. term used to refer to a non-functioning electronic device
L4724 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈbɹɪk/ / /ˈbɹɘk/

adj

Etymology: 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.

  1. Extremely cold.

    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.

    He was always hanging tight with me and since he had access to a ride . . . it made traveling easier. I mean it was no biggie brain buster to take the train, but when it's brick outside . . . fuck the A train.

name

Etymology: * 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.

  1. A surname.
  2. A township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, named after Joseph Brick.

noun

Etymology: 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.

  1. A hardened rectangular block of mud, clay etc., used for building.

    This wall is made of bricks.

  2. Such hardened mud, clay, etc. considered collectively, as a building material.

    This house is made of brick.

    They gather one by one, trickling into the shady courtyard, the familiar hum of Mass. Ave. wafting in from behind brick buildings and iron gates.

  3. Something shaped like a brick.

    a plastic explosive brick

  4. The colour brick red.

    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.

    He disentangled himself from the safe door and delved inside. He brought out a brick of banknotes.

  5. A helpful and reliable person.

    Thanks for helping me wash the car. You’re a brick.

    “It's easy to see you're a brick!” replied Lady Augusta, and the laugh again became general.

  6. 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.

    See also: put up a brick

    We can't win if we keep throwing up bricks from three-point land.

  7. 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.
  8. An electronic device, especially a heavy box-shaped one, that has become non-functional or obsolete.
  9. A projectile.

    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.

  10. A carton of 500 rimfire cartridges, which forms the approximate size and shape of a brick.
  11. A community card (usually the turn or the river) which does not improve a player's hand.

    The two of clubs was a complete brick on the river.

  12. A card in a player's hand that is currently unplayable.
  13. A kilogram of cocaine.

    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

  14. A trans woman who does not pass.

    Was she like you—a brick, never passed, never gonna?

    In the world of drag, “brick” is a shady word, slang lobbed at queens whose makeup looks busted, whose wardrobes have seen better days, or who are just generally giving hot mess.

  15. A reel or short video.

    I built up this feed brick by brick.

    OK, you can have this brick back, I don't want it

  16. Any of species Agrochola circellaris of moths of Europe and Asia Minor.
  17. A brick phone.

verb

Etymology: 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.

  1. To build, line, or form with bricks.

    to be bricked alive (as a form of capital punishment)

    If the ground is strong right up to the surface, a few yards are usually sunk and bricked before the engines and pit top are erected

  2. To make into bricks.

    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.

  3. To hit someone or something with a brick.
  4. To make (an electronic device) non-functional and usually beyond repair, as a result of software or configuration issues.

    My VCR was bricked during the lightning storm.

    Just need to project against users from deleting NK.BIN and bricking the device.

  5. Of an electronic device, to become non-functional, especially in a way beyond repair, as a result of software or configuration issues.

    My phone bricked halfway through the videoconference.

  6. To blunder; to screw up.