What does brickwork mean?
Brickwork refers to both the practice of building with bricks — laying them in courses and bonding them with mortar — and to the resulting brick elements of a finished structure, such as walls, chimneys, arches, and facades. It is a staple term of the building trades, used by architects, builders, and surveyors to describe everything from load-bearing walls to decorative facing. The quality of brickwork depends on factors like the bond pattern (the arrangement of overlapping bricks), the mortar joints, and weather protection, which is why phrases like 'crumbling brickwork' or 'repointing the brickwork' appear so often in property reports. The word carries no strong connotation; it is technical and neutral rather than literary or informal. Because bricks have been a principal building material for millennia, brickwork is central to discussions of both historic preservation and modern construction, making it an essential term for anyone reading about architecture, renovation, or engineering.
nounBrickwork is the construction of walls, buildings, and other structures using bricks laid in mortar. It also refers to the finished brick parts of a structure considered collectively.
- The craft or process of constructing structures from bricks bonded together with mortar.
- The brick portions of a completed structure regarded as a whole.
"The old chimney's crumbling brickwork had to be repointed before the winter rains arrived."
"Good brickwork requires careful attention to the alignment and spacing of each joint."
"Surveyors noted extensive frost damage to the brickwork along the north-facing wall."
A plural form exists but is rare for the material sense; 'brickworks' more commonly means factories where bricks are made.
"Several disused brickworks still dot the landscape of the Fens."
The Great Wall of China's brickwork contains so many bricks that if you stacked them end to end, they would circle the globe several times.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of brickwork
The word brickwork is a straightforward compound of 'brick' plus the suffix '-work', denoting something constructed or fashioned from that material. 'Brick' itself entered Middle English from Old French 'brique', likely borrowed from a Germanic source, and has been in use for masonry since the Middle Ages. Compounds of this shape — combining a material with '-work' — are a productive pattern in English, giving parallels such as stonework, woodwork, and metalwork. Related terms sharing the root include bricklayer, brickkiln, and brickfield.
How brickwork is actually used
Brickwork is an uncountable noun in most contexts and takes singular verb agreement. It is a neutral, technical term common in architecture, construction, and surveying, and appears in both British and American English, though it is somewhat more frequent in British usage.
Easily confused with brickwork
Masonry is a broader term covering any building with stone, brick, or concrete blocks, while brickwork refers specifically to work done with bricks.