bric-a-brac

IPA/ˈbrɪk ə bræk/
IPA/ˈbrɪk ə bræk/

bric-a-brac — noun

1. Small attractive objects that people put on shelves and tables to decorate a roo

1.nounB2
Definition

Small attractive objects that people put on shelves and tables to decorate a room, such as porcelain figures, glass bowls, and old vases — items that are not especially valuable but are kept because they look nice or have sentimental meaning.

Example

Amani found a small porcelain cat on the bric-a-brac shelf at the charity shop.

The old chest in the attic was full of dusty bric-a-brac from Grandma's travels.

collocation: full of bric-a-brac / dusty bric-a-brac

Common collocations
  • dusty bric-a-brac
  • colourful bric-a-brac
  • antique bric-a-brac
  • a shelf of bric-a-brac
  • a table covered in bric-a-brac
  • a shop full of bric-a-brac
  • a collection of bric-a-brac
  • odds and ends of bric-a-brac
Synonyms
  • knick-knacks

    Informal word for the same kind of small decorative objects; more casual than bric-a-brac.

  • ornaments

    A broader term for any decorative object, not necessarily inexpensive or eclectic.

  • trinkets

    Focuses on small, cheap decorative items, often jewellery-like; slightly dismissive in tone.

  • curios

    Items valued for being unusual or rare rather than for simple decoration; more museum-like.

Grammar Patterns

bric-a-brac as modifier: bric-a-brac shop / bric-a-brac stall

Usage Note

Bric-a-brac is an uncountable noun and is always treated as singular. It typically appears in contexts like charity shops, flea markets, and antique stalls, or when describing the contents of an attic or cupboard. British English uses a hyphenated spelling (bric-a-brac); American English sometimes merges it to bricabrac.

Common Mistakes

I bought some bric-a-bracs at the market.
I bought some bric-a-brac at the market.
Bric-a-brac is an uncountable noun and does not have a plural form.
She has a bric-a-brac on her shelf.
She has some bric-a-brac on her shelf.
Use a quantity word (some / a lot of / pieces of) rather than 'a' because the noun is uncountable.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Bric-a-brac is the most general and slightly formal term for a mixed collection of small, inexpensive decorative items. Knick-knacks is its closest informal synonym, used in everyday conversation ('a shelf full of knick-knacks'). Ornaments is broader and can include valuable items (e.g. 'Christmas ornaments'), while trinkets carries a dismissive tone, suggesting cheapness or poor quality ('tourist trinkets'). Curios implies unusual or collectible objects with historical interest, closer to antiques than to everyday decorations. For example, a charity shop might sell bric-a-brac and knick-knacks interchangeably, but a museum gift shop sells curios, not trinkets.

knick-knacks ↗ornaments ↗trinkets ↗curios ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bric-a-brac shop
  • bric-a-brac stall
  • bric-a-brac shelf
  • bric-a-brac collection
  • bric-a-brac market

Phrases

  • odds and ends of bric-a-brac
  • a jumble of bric-a-brac
  • pieces of bric-a-brac

Prepositions

  • covered in bric-a-brac
  • filled with bric-a-brac
  • a shelf of bric-a-brac
  • a collection of bric-a-brac

Etymology

FrenchEnglish

Bric-a-brac came into English in the mid-1800s from the French phrase 'bric-à-brac', which means 'at random' or 'odds and ends'. The French term itself may come from earlier expressions like 'de bric et de broc' (this way and that), suggesting a random mixture of objects brought together without any plan.

First known use

1830

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 1