bric-a-brac

noun

plural bric-a-brac
1
: a miscellaneous collection of small articles commonly of ornamental or sentimental value : curios
2
: something suggesting bric-a-brac especially in extraneous decorative quality

Examples of bric-a-brac 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.
Like the larger market to the north, the flea market at Vanves is home to vintage rugs and clothes, vinyl records, antique jewelry, and other retro bric-a-brac. Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 28 Oct. 2024 This market is a strange concoction of karaoke bars, bric-a-brac and items from that war on sale: photos, medals and dog tags from men who were lost and never found. Richard Quest, CNN, 6 Oct. 2024 On Monday, after a judge tossed out his indictment for treating classified documents like so much bric-a-brac at Mar-a-Lago, Trump took to his Truth social media site to issue one of his incendiary all-caps diatribes. Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2024 But the movie, directed by Reginald Hudlin, take a turn for the fantasy/bizarre when Chris, out hunting for Christmas bric-a-brac, comes across an eccentric pop-up shop called Kringle’s that’s nestled under a concrete tangle of highway. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 3 Dec. 2023 The hotel, once a gentlemen's boardinghouse, is a paean to louche classicism, stocked with antiques and eclectic bric-a-brac that could have been scooped up on a European Grand Tour. Betsy Blumenthal, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Nov. 2023 Throughout the flat are half-finished sculptures of busty women, bags of papers, books, bric-a-brac, passable (from a distance) replicas of military uniforms; miscellaneous items gathered and hoarded for some future use. Max Olesker, Longreads, 13 July 2023 While Joan Didion’s sunglasses and assorted bric-a-brac sold for a premium at auction last fall ($27,000 for a pair of sunglasses), her apartment, an 11-room behemoth on the Upper East Side, has not produced quite the same feverish response. Curbed, 1 June 2023 Her own work is installed alongside diaries, maps, a UFO photograph, a seaweed specimen, bookbinder tools, bric-a-brac, and various arcana. Vulture, 26 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

French bric-à-brac

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bric-a-brac was in 1830

Dictionary Entries Near bric-a-brac

Cite this Entry

“Bric-a-brac.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bric-a-brac. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

bric-a-brac

noun
ˈbrik-ə-ˌbrak
: small ornamental articles

More from Merriam-Webster on bric-a-brac

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!