brickbats

brick·bats
B3R1I1C3K5B3A1T1S1
UK/ˈbɹɪkbæts/US/ˈbɹɪkˌbæts/

noun

Small rocky particles moving as a group in space, especially as forming rings around planets.

UncommonScrabble 19
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Meanings

nounbrickbats pl (plural only)
  1. informalpluralplural onlyastronomySmall rocky particles moving as a group in space, especially as forming rings around planets.
noun
  1. pluralplural of brickbat
verb
  1. indicativepresentsingularthird personthird-person singular simple present indicative of brickbat

Origin

From brickbat + -s. The plural only sense (“small rocky particles moving as a group in space”) was coined by the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) and is used chiefly in reference to his writings.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

brickbats. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brickbats

MLA

“brickbats.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brickbats. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brickbats,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brickbats.

Source: brickbats on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.