brickmaker

IPA/bɹˈɪkmeɪkə/
IPA/bɹˈɪkmeɪkɚ/

brickmaker — noun

1. a person whose job is to run a machine that shapes clay into bricks.

1.nounC2
Definition

a person whose job is to run a machine that shapes clay into bricks.

Example

At dawn, Ravi the brickmaker checked the wet clay beside the shed.

job context: check wet clay before work

The village brickmaker repaired the molding machine before the first load.

typical task: repair the molding machine

Common collocations
  • skilled brickmaker
  • local brickmaker
  • work as a brickmaker
  • repair the molding machine
  • shape bricks by hand
Synonyms
  • machine operator

    broader; the machine may produce many things, not specifically bricks

  • factory worker

    much broader; it does not say what the person makes

  • manufacturer

    broader and often higher-level; it can mean a business owner or company, not the worker at the machine

Grammar Patterns

a brickmaker

work as a brickmaker

skilled/local brickmaker

Usage Note

Usually found in descriptions of factory or yard work, especially when the worker shapes clay with a machine. Distinguish from bricklayer, which means someone who builds with finished bricks.

Common Mistakes

My uncle is a brickmaker who built our garden wall.
My uncle is a bricklayer who built our garden wall.
a brickmaker makes bricks, but a bricklayer uses them to build.

Word family

  • brickmaking
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Brickmaker' is a very specific job word. It refers to a worker who makes bricks, often by running the machine that shapes the clay. 'Machine operator' is broader, because the machine could be used for many products. 'Factory worker' is broader still and does not tell you what the person produces. 'Manufacturer' often points to the business, the owner, or the company in charge of production, not the person standing by the machine. Use 'brickmaker' when the exact hands-on job matters. For example, Hana worked as a brickmaker in a clay yard, but her brother was simply a factory worker in a food plant.

brickmaker ↗machine operatorfactory workermanufacturer ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • skilled brickmaker
  • local brickmaker
  • village brickmaker

Phrases

  • work as a brickmaker
  • train as a brickmaker

Etymology

English

Brickmaker is a compound formed in English from brick and maker. The second part uses the -er pattern for a person whose job is to do something, so the word literally means a person who makes bricks.