bricks and mortar


noun
    • a building or buildings: he invested in bricks and mortar rather than stocks and shares

    • (as modifier): a bricks-and-mortar fortune

    • a physical business premises rather than an internet presence

    • (as modifier): bricks-and-mortar firms

Words Nearby bricks and mortar

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use bricks and mortar in a sentence

Other Idioms and Phrases with bricks and mortar

bricks and mortar

Basic and essential, as in Matthew Arnold's essay (1865): “Margate, that bricks-and-mortar image of British Protestantism.” This phrase transfers essential building materials to other fundamental matters. It also may be used more literally to denote a building or buildings (whether or not made of bricks and mortar), as in The alumni prefer to see their donations in the form of bricks and mortar. [Mid-1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.