bric-a-brac
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of bric-a-brac
1830–40; < French, Middle French: literally, at random, without rhyme or reason; gradational compound from elements of obscure origin
Explanation
Bric-a-brac is knickknacks: little objects without any purpose except decoration. Some people love to collect bric-a-brac. Do you know anyone who collects little unicorn figurines or other small knickknacks? Then you know someone who likes bric-a-brac. Bric-a-brac consists of little odds and ends crafted by artists. This is a mass noun: it's plural without adding an s, standing for all sorts of tawdry trinkets. The nice thing about bric-a-brac is you always have room for more since they’re tiny. An arts and crafts festival is a great place to find all sorts of bric-a-brac.
Vocabulary lists containing bric-a-brac
The Summer of Lost Letters
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The Hiding Place
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The Ice Cream Machine
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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.
Elvis' actual house is smaller than you'd think and kinda gives off grandpa vibes with the overly carpeted rooms and hallways, and bric-a-brac strewed about.
From Salon • Jan. 22, 2023
As Norwich observes, you can chance upon worthy material not just in your reading but also in overheard conversations, advertisements, even on souvenir bric-a-brac.
From Washington Post • Dec. 15, 2022
Another expedition involved visiting a “car boot sale,” a flea market particular to the U.K. in which ordinary folk park their cars in a field and sell bric-a-brac from the trunk.
From New York Times • Oct. 14, 2022
Her honorary Oscar stood inconspicuously among the bric-a-brac.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 11, 2022
In the America of the 1790s, Washington’s image was everywhere, in paintings, prints, lockets; on coins, silverware, plates, and household bric-a-brac.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
