brickbat
Americannoun
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a piece of broken brick, especially one used as a missile.
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any rocklike missile.
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an unkind or unfavorable remark; caustic criticism.
The critics greeted the play with brickbats.
noun
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a piece of brick or similar material, esp one used as a weapon
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blunt criticism
the critic threw several brickbats at the singer
Etymology
Origin of brickbat
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While senators and interest groups reacted to the news with bouquets and the occasional brickbat, Biden declined to get ahead of Breyer’s announcement.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2022
There is one more bouquet to deliver from the weekend, although it won't be popular, so it comes with a bit of a brickbat.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 19, 2013
Ms. Millit, who physically resembles Carol Burnett, is an operatically trained singer, but her shrill, brassy rendition of “My One and Only Love” on Monday evening hammered it with a brickbat.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2011
Lydon has lobbed many a brickbat at McLaren over the years, but when asked about the death of his one-time manager, he gets serious.
From Reuters ● Apr. 13, 2010
The last thing that created doubts in my mind was this that not one brickbat had hit anybody.
From Indian Ghost Stories Second Edition by Mukerji, S.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
