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bric-a-brac

bric-a-brac

2 8.7
Small pretty objects kept for decoration or as souvenirs
  • noun
  • /ˌbrɪkəˈbræk/
translation icon : chucherías
  • At the flea market, I found a beautiful collection of bric-a-brac from various countries.
  • antique bric-a-brac
  • cluttered with bric-a-brac
  • lots of bric-a-brac

Examples

  • Here are more palms and ferns, rich European fittings, and Eastern bric-a-brac.

    Blog text (22)
  • Miranda's partner said they spent $2 million on all the couches, chandeliers, and bric-a-brac.

    Blog text (8)
  • We were thankful for its decorative bric-a-brac, but that was it.

    Academic text (2008)
  • You'd be even more cozy if you kept all this bric-a-brac up there with you.

  • We sit in his spacious living room filled with the bric-a-brac and mementos of a marathon, illustrious musical career.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • A wall of bookcases, plants on the windowsills, a Colonial dry sink which served as a bar, bric-a-brac he'd gathered on trips abroad, good paintings.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Martin Gaite portrays cramped interiors composed of small rooms jammed with furniture and bric-a-brac.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Her wraps were removed, and she was shown into a very feminine parlor displaying every kind of bric-a-brac, where a cheery coal fire blazed a welcome.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The small table was filled with bric-a-brac like antique figurines and colorful trinkets.

  • Her shelf was adorned with bric-a-brac, including vintage postcards and handmade pottery.

Synonyms

knickknack
vsbric-a-brac
16 4.2

A small cheap object people keep to decorate a home

is valued for sentimental or ornamental reasons rather than low monetary worth
bauble
vsbric-a-brac
11 6.7

A small, cheap piece of jewelry worn for decoration

is mainly kept and collected for sentimental or ornamental display
bibelot
vsbric-a-brac
  • Literature
1 9.9

A small decorative object like a tiny ornament kept for its beauty rather than for use

emphasizes sentimental collecting value rather than just beauty
whatnot
vsbric-a-brac
  • Archaic
1 7.6

A small shelf or stand that holds little decorations

focuses on items kept for sentimental or ornamental value rather than mere miscellany
nicknack
vsbric-a-brac
7.0

A small object kept for decoration rather than use

focuses more on sentimental value than pure ornamentation
knickknackery
vsbric-a-brac
9.4

A group of small pretty objects like ornaments or souvenirs

treats items as a grouped assortment rather than individual sentimental keepsakes
trumpery
vsbric-a-brac
  • Archaic
9.9

Cheap objects that look nice but have little value

is used for items valued for sentiment or ornament rather than dismissed as worthless

How Decorative

decorative
49 3.9
bric-a-brac
2 8.7
curio
7 8.4

Surface Forms

bric-a-brac singular
bric-a-bracs plural

Etymology

Bric-a-brac comes from a French phrase bric-à-brac, which meant a 'mixed pile of small things', so picture a crowded shelf of little objects. So bric-a-brac today means small decorative objects or 'knick-knacks' you keep for their charm rather than for use.