put up a brick

verb

Taking a bad shot that strongly misses the target and clanks loudly off the rim or backboard.

Similar
throw up a brick
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Meanings

verbput up a brick (third-person singular simple present puts up a brick, present participle putting up a brick, simple past and past participle put up a brick)

present singular third person puts up a brick · participle present putting up a brick

  1. idiomaticslangball gamesTaking a bad shot that strongly misses the target and clanks loudly off the rim or backboard.

    Synonyms: throw up a brick

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTaking a bad shot that strongly misses the target and clanks loudly off the rim or backboard.

Similar
throw up a brick
Also see
throw up a brick

Origin

Implies the basketball is as heavy and stiff as a literal building brick instead of having a soft, clean arc.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

put up a brick. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20up%20a%20brick

MLA

“put up a brick.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20up%20a%20brick. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “put up a brick,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/put%20up%20a%20brick.

Source: put up a brick on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.