brick

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

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

   This wall is made of bricks.

2. 2
   noun

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

   This house is made of brick.

3. 3
   noun

   Something shaped like a brick.

   a plastic explosive brick

4. 4
   noun

   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.

5. 5
   noun

   A helpful and reliable person.

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

6. 6
   noun

   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.

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

7. 7
   noun

   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.

8. 8
   noun

   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.

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.