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Glite Dictionary
clinker brick

clinker brick

7.7
A very hard brick used for paving paths and driveways
  • noun
  • /ˈklɪŋkər brɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ladrillo clinker
  • He admired the textured surface of the old clinker brick patio.

Examples

  • The pathway was laid with clinker bricks that gave it a rustic charm.

  • A clinker brick is very durable.

  • Due to their durability, clinker bricks are often chosen for garden edging and driveways.

  • The clinker brick wall was built to last.

  • The patio was built using clinker brick for added durability and style.

  • Many historic buildings are made of clinker brick due to its strength and weather resistance.

  • To create a stable walkway, we chose clinker brick for its robust properties.

Synonyms

brick
vsclinker brick
440 1.0

A hard rectangular block of baked clay used to build walls or paths

is much harder denser and mainly for durable paving rather than general building
clinker
vsclinker brick
  • Specialized
8.8

A hard brick used for paving streets and floors

is denser and often irregular in shape for heavy-duty paving use

How Hard

granite
64 3.5
clinker brick
  • Specialized
7.7
brick
440 1.0
adobe
11 5.1

Surface Forms

clinker brick singular
clinker bricks plural

Morphology

clinker + brick

This is a transparent noun–noun compound: 'clinker' denotes a hard, vitrified type and 'brick' denotes a building block, so 'clinker brick' straightforwardly means a brick made of clinker (a very hard, dense brick). The meaning is directly compositional and follows a common modifier+head pattern found across languages, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Clinker brick comes from old brick-making: when a brick was baked too hot in the oven, it sometimes melted a little and became a dark, very hard, odd-shaped lump called a clinker. Because builders used these tough, uneven pieces for paths and edging, the name came to mean 'a very hard, uneven brick used for paving'.