brick-and-mortar

adjective

brick-and-mor·​tar ˈbrik-ən(d)-ˈmȯr-tər How to pronounce brick-and-mortar (audio)
variants or bricks-and-mortar
: relating to or being a traditional business serving customers in a building as contrasted to an online business
a brick-and-mortar store

Examples of brick-and-mortar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The company has four brick-and-mortar stores in London — all in prime real estate locations — and one in Miami. Ruxandra Iordache, CNBC, 23 July 2025 This year, the company exploited the significant advantage of being able to also offer promotions at its 10,000-plus stores, highlighting Amazon’s glaring blind spot—an inability to establish a competitive presence in bricks-and-mortar retail. Greg Petro, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025 In addition to the brick-and-mortar presence, Vuori has widened its international digital footprint and is now live in 11 additional countries including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Portugal and Japan. Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 22 July 2025 That’s how professional snowboarder turned restaurateur Jordan Small, 31 years of age, described opening day of his first brick-and-mortar smashburger spot Small’s Smash Club in San Clemente. Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 18 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for brick-and-mortar

Word History

First Known Use

1975, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of brick-and-mortar was in 1975

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Cite this Entry

“Brick-and-mortar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brick-and-mortar. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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