bric-a-brac

American  

[brik-uh-brak] / ˈbrɪk əˌbræk /

Or bric-à-brac

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. miscellaneous small articles collected for their antiquarian, sentimental, decorative, or other interest.

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bric-a-brac British  

/ ˈbrɪkəˌbræk /

noun

1. miscellaneous small objects, esp furniture and curios, kept because they are ornamental or rare

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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

Example Sentences

In one of her newest pieces, “Once in a Lifetime” — part sculpture, part video display — precarious clusters of bric-a-brac form a mechanical marvel that appears to defy gravity.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2026

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

In the later paintings, he complicated the visual field by introducing still-life props and pieces of bric-a-brac — duck decoys, weather vanes, plastic inflatable chairs, fluorescent Mickey Mouse signs, model boats.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2022

A woman who found two portraits by a 20th Century British artist on a church bric-a-brac stall has described it as her "Fiona Bruce" moment.

From BBC • Aug. 5, 2022

These appear to have been spread about, out of context, like titanic bric-a-brac, in a manner that would have struck the natives as highly irreverent—Egyptianizing instead of Egyptian.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro