Brick vs. Stone — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Maham Liaqat — Updated on May 3, 2024
Brick is a manufactured building material formed from clay and fired in a kiln, typically uniform in size; stone is a natural, varied material sourced from quarried rock or aggregates.
Difference Between Brick and Stone
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Brick is primarily made from clay and is uniform in shape and size, offering a consistent appearance and making it easier to work with in construction. Whereas stone, being a natural material, comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, which can add unique character but may require more skill to install properly.
Brick manufacturing involves mixing clay with water, forming the mixture into standard shapes, and then firing them in a kiln to harden. This process allows for the mass production of bricks with predictable properties and quality. On the other hand, stone must be quarried and shaped, a process that varies depending on the type of stone and its source, leading to a more labor-intensive preparation.
In terms of durability, bricks are generally less durable compared to most types of stone. Bricks can deteriorate faster under harsh weather conditions and are more susceptible to moisture penetration. Stones, however, are typically very durable, withstanding severe weather conditions better, but they can also be more expensive to procure and install.
Bricks offer better insulation than stones due to their porous nature, which helps in maintaining temperature within buildings. Stones, while denser and providing substantial thermal mass, may not insulate as well but will stabilize indoor temperatures over long periods.
Brick construction tends to be less costly and less labor-intensive compared to stone due to the uniformity and ease of handling of bricks. Stone construction, although potentially more costly and requiring skilled stonemasons, often increases the aesthetic and market value of a property.
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Comparison Chart
Composition
Made from clay and other additives, fired
Natural rock, quarried and cut
Appearance
Uniform size and shape, consistent color
Varied sizes, shapes, natural colors
Durability
Less durable, susceptible to weather damage
Generally more durable, weather-resistant
Insulation Properties
Good insulation due to porosity
Less insulative, better thermal mass
Cost and Installation
Generally cheaper, easier to install
More expensive, requires skilled labor
Compare with Definitions
Brick
A dull or deep red color resembling that of brick.
She wore a brick-colored coat.
Stone
Something resembling or suggestive of a stone (in hardness).
His heart turned to stone after the betrayal.
Brick
Bricks collectively, as a building material.
The house was built with brick.
Stone
A small piece of rock found on the ground.
She skipped the stone across the pond.
Brick
Slang: a large quantity of drugs packaged tightly.
The police found a brick of cocaine in the car.
Stone
A unit of weight equal to 14 pounds (6.35 kg).
He weighs 12 stone.
Brick
Informal: a reliable person.
He’s a real brick for helping us move.
Stone
Hard, solid non-metallic mineral matter of which rock is made.
The path was paved with smooth stones.
Brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term brick denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured construction blocks.
Stone
British slang: used to emphasize a statement.
It's stone cold in here.
Brick
A small rectangular block typically made of fired or sun-dried clay, used in building.
Stone
Hard solid non-metallic mineral matter of which rock is made, especially as a building material
The houses are built of stone
High stone walls
Brick
A large and relatively heavy mobile phone, typically an early model with limited functionality
I had one of those Motorola bricks as my first cell phone
Stone
A piece of stone shaped for a purpose, especially one of commemoration, ceremony, or demarcation
A memorial stone
Boundary stones
Brick
A generous, helpful, and reliable person
‘You are really a brick, Vi,’ Gloria said
Stone
A hard seed in a cherry, plum, peach, and some other fruits.
Brick
Block or enclose with a wall of bricks
The doors have been bricked up
Stone
A unit of weight equal to 14 lb (6.35 kg)
I weighed 10 stone
Brick
Throw bricks at
The pub was attacked and windows in the area were bricked
Stone
A natural shade of whitish or brownish-grey
Stone stretch trousers
Brick
Cause (a smartphone or other electronic device) to become completely unable to function, typically on a permanent basis
Installing an unofficial OS voids the warranty and may brick the phone
Stone
Throw stones at
Two people were stoned to death
Policemen were stoned by the crowd
Brick
Be extremely worried or nervous.
Stone
Remove the stone from (a fruit).
Brick
A molded rectangular block of clay baked by the sun or in a kiln until hard and used as a building and paving material.
Stone
Build, face, or pave with stone
The honey-stoned, eighteenth-century city
Brick
Such blocks of clay used as a building material
A house made of brick.
Stone
Concreted earthy or mineral matter; rock.
Brick
An object shaped like such a block
A brick of cheese.
Stone
Such concreted matter of a particular type. Often used in combination
Sandstone.
Soapstone.
Brick
(Informal) A smartphone, tablet, or similar electronic device that connects to the internet that has become inoperable.
Stone
A small piece of rock.
Brick
A dark brownish red.
Stone
A piece of rock that is used in construction
A coping stone.
A paving stone.
Brick
(Informal) A helpful, reliable person.
Stone
A gravestone or tombstone.
Brick
(Basketball) A shot that falls short of the basket.
Stone
A grindstone, millstone, or whetstone.
Brick
To construct, line, or pave with bricks.
Stone
A milestone or boundary.
Brick
To close or wall with brick
Bricked up the windows of the old house.
Stone
A gem or precious stone.
Brick
(Informal) To cause to become inoperable. Used especially of electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, that connect to the internet. I bricked my smartphone when I tried to untether it.
Stone
Something, such as a hailstone, resembling a stone in shape or hardness.
Brick
(Informal) To become inoperable. Used especially of electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, that connect to the internet.
Stone
(Botany) The hard covering enclosing the seed in certain fruits, such as the cherry, plum, or peach.
Brick
(countable) A hardened rectangular block of mud, clay etc., used for building.
This wall is made of bricks.
Stone
(Medicine) A mineral concretion in an organ, such as the kidney or gallbladder, or other body part; a calculus.
Brick
(uncountable) Such hardened mud, clay, etc. considered collectively, as a building material.
This house is made of brick.
Stone
Pl. stone Abbr. st. A unit of weight in Great Britain, 14 pounds (6.4 kilograms).
Brick
(countable) Something shaped like a brick.
A plastic explosive brick
Stone
(Printing) A table with a smooth surface on which page forms are composed.
Brick
A helpful and reliable person.
Thanks for helping me wash the car. You're a brick.
Stone
Relating to or made of stone
A stone wall.
Brick
A shot which misses, particularly one which bounces directly out of the basket because of a too-flat trajectory, as if the ball were a heavier object.
We can't win if we keep throwing up bricks from three-point land.
Stone
Made of stoneware or earthenware.
Brick
(informal) A power brick; an external power supply consisting of a small box with an integral male power plug and an attached electric cord terminating in another power plug.
Stone
Complete; utter. Often used in combination
A stone liar.
Stone-deaf.
Brick
An electronic device, especially a heavy box-shaped one, that has become non-functional or obsolete.
Stone
Completely; utterly
Stone cold.
Standing stone still.
Brick
A projectile.
Stone
To hurl or throw stones at, especially to kill with stones.
Brick
(firearms) A carton of 500 rimfire cartridges, which forms the approximate size and shape of a brick.
Stone
To remove the stones or pits from.
Brick
(poker slang) A community card (usually the turn or the river) which does not improve a player's hand.
The two of clubs was a complete brick on the river.
Stone
To furnish, fit, pave, or line with stones.
Brick
The colour brick red.
Stone
To rub on or with a stone in order to polish or sharpen.
Brick
(slang) A kilogram of cocaine.
Stone
(Sports) To block a shot taken by (an opponent). Used of a goalie.
Brick
Extremely cold.
Stone
(Obsolete) To make hard or indifferent.
Brick
(transitive) To build, line, or form with bricks.
Stone
(uncountable) A hard earthen substance that can form large rocks.
Brick
(transitive) To make into bricks.
Stone
A small piece of stone, a pebble.
Brick
To hit someone or something with a brick.
Stone
A gemstone, a jewel, especially a diamond.
Brick
To make an electronic device nonfunctional and usually beyond repair, essentially making it no more useful than a brick.
My VCR was bricked during the lightning storm.
Stone
(British) A unit of mass equal to 14 pounds (≈6.3503 kilograms), formerly used for various commodities (wool, cheese, etc.), but now principally used for personal weight.
Brick
To blunder; to screw up.
Stone
(botany) The central part of some fruits, particularly drupes; consisting of the seed and a hard endocarp layer.
A peach stone
Brick
A block or clay tempered with water, sand, etc., molded into a regular form, usually rectangular, and sun-dried, or burnt in a kiln, or in a heap or stack called a clamp.
The Assyrians appear to have made much less use of bricks baked in the furnace than the Babylonians.
Stone
(medicine) A hard, stone-like deposit.
Brick
Bricks, collectively, as designating that kind of material; as, a load of brick; a thousand of brick.
Some of Palladio's finest examples are of brick.
Stone
(board games) A playing piece made of any hard material, used in various board games such as backgammon and go.
Brick
Any oblong rectangular mass; as, a brick of maple sugar; a penny brick (of bread).
Stone
A dull light grey or beige, like that of some stones.
Brick
A good fellow; a merry person; as, you 're a brick.
Stone
(curling) A 42-pound, precisely shaped piece of granite with a handle attached, which is bowled down the ice.
Brick
To lay or pave with bricks; to surround, line, or construct with bricks.
Stone
A monument to the dead; a gravestone or tombstone.
Brick
To imitate or counterfeit a brick wall on, as by smearing plaster with red ocher, making the joints with an edge tool, and pointing them.
Stone
(obsolete) A mirror, or its glass.
Brick
Rectangular block of clay baked by the sun or in a kiln; used as a building or paving material
Stone
(obsolete) A testicle.
Brick
A good fellow; helpful and trustworthy
Stone
A stand or table with a smooth, flat top of stone, commonly marble, on which to arrange the pages of a book, newspaper, etc. before printing.
Stone
(transitive) To pelt with stones, especially to kill by pelting with stones.
She got stoned to death after they found her.
Stone
(transitive) To wall with stones.
Stone
(transitive) To remove a stone from (fruit etc.).
Stone
(intransitive) To form a stone during growth, with reference to fruit etc.
Stone
To intoxicate, especially with narcotics. Usually in passive
Stone
To do nothing, to stare blankly into space and not pay attention when relaxing or when bored.
Stone
(transitive) To lap with an abrasive stone to remove surface irregularities.
Stone
Constructed of stone.
Stone walls
Stone
Having the appearance of stone.
Stone pot
Stone
Of a dull light grey or beige, like that of some stones.
Stone
(AAVE) Used as an intensifier.
She is one stone fox.
Stone
As a stone used with following adjective.
My father is stone deaf. This soup is stone cold.
Stone
(slang) Absolutely, completely used with following adjectives.
I went stone crazy after she left.
I said the medication made my vision temporarily blurry, it did not make me stone blind.
Stone
Concreted earthy or mineral matter; also, any particular mass of such matter; as, a house built of stone; the boy threw a stone; pebbles are rounded stones.
They had brick for stone, and slime . . . for mortar.
Stone
A precious stone; a gem.
Stone
Something made of stone. Specifically: -
Stone
The glass of a mirror; a mirror.
Lend me a looking-glass;If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,Why, then she lives.
Stone
A calculous concretion, especially one in the kidneys or bladder; the disease arising from a calculus.
Stone
A monument to the dead; a gravestone.
Should some relenting eyeGlance on the where our cold relics lie.
Stone
One of the testes; a testicle.
Stone
The hard endocarp of drupes; as, the stone of a cherry or peach. See Illust. of Endocarp.
Stone
A weight which legally is fourteen pounds, but in practice varies with the article weighed.
Stone
Fig.: Symbol of hardness and insensibility; torpidness; insensibility; as, a heart of stone.
I have not yet forgot myself to stone.
Stone
A stand or table with a smooth, flat top of stone, commonly marble, on which to arrange the pages of a book, newspaper, etc., before printing; - called also imposing stone.
Stone
To pelt, beat, or kill with stones.
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Stone
To make like stone; to harden.
O perjured woman! thou dost stone my heart.
Stone
To free from stones; also, to remove the seeds of; as, to stone a field; to stone cherries; to stone raisins.
Stone
To wall or face with stones; to line or fortify with stones; as, to stone a well; to stone a cellar.
Stone
To rub, scour, or sharpen with a stone.
Stone
A lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter;
He threw a rock at me
Stone
Material consisting of the aggregate of minerals like those making up the Earth's crust;
That mountain is solid rock
Stone is abundant in New England and there are many quarries
Stone
Building material consisting of a piece of rock hewn in a definite shape for a special purpose;
He wanted a special stone to mark the site
Stone
A crystalline rock that can be cut and polished for jewelry;
He had the gem set in a ring for his wife
She had jewels made of all the rarest stones
Stone
The hard inner (usually woody) layer of the pericarp of some fruits (as peaches or plums or cherries or olives) that contains the seed;
You should remove the stones from prunes before cooking
Stone
An avoirdupois unit used to measure the weight of a human body; equal to 14 pounds;
A heavy chap who must have weighed more than twenty stone
Stone
United States filmmaker (born in 1946)
Stone
United States feminist and suffragist (1818-1893)
Stone
United States journalist who advocated liberal causes (1907-1989)
Stone
United States jurist who served on the United States Supreme Court as Chief Justice (1872-1946)
Stone
United States architect (1902-1978)
Stone
A lack of feeling or expression or movement;
He must have a heart of stone
Her face was as hard as stone
Stone
Kill by throwing stones at;
Adulterers should be stoned according to the Koran
Stone
Remove the pits from;
Pit plums and cherries
Stone
Of any of various dull tannish-gray colors
Common Curiosities
What are the insulating properties of brick compared to stone?
Bricks offer better insulation due to their porous nature, whereas stone provides better thermal mass but less insulation.
What are the primary materials used in bricks and stones?
Bricks are primarily made from clay, while stones are natural rocks quarried from the earth.
How do brick and stone differ in terms of environmental impact?
Brick production can be more energy-intensive due to the firing process, while stone has a high environmental impact from quarrying.
Can brick and stone be used together in construction?
Yes, brick and stone can be combined in construction to utilize the benefits of both materials.
What type of maintenance do brick and stone require?
Brick may require more frequent maintenance such as sealing against moisture, while stone needs less frequent but potentially more specialized care.
How do the aesthetic values of brick and stone differ?
Brick provides a uniform, traditional look, while stone offers a more natural, varied aesthetic.
Are bricks or stones more expensive to install?
Stones are usually more expensive to install due to the need for skilled labor and the variability in their shapes and sizes.
What styles of architecture prefer using brick?
Brick is commonly used in Colonial, Victorian, and contemporary urban designs.
How does the weight of brick compare to stone?
Generally, stone is heavier than brick, affecting transportation and handling during construction.
What is the typical lifespan of a brick versus a stone structure?
Stone structures typically have a longer lifespan compared to brick structures, depending on the environmental conditions.
Which is more durable: brick or stone?
Stone is generally more durable than brick.
What styles of architecture prefer using stone?
Stone is often preferred in classical, cottage, and rustic architectural styles.
Can the color of brick and stone fade over time?
Yes, the color of brick can fade, particularly under constant sun exposure, while stone generally maintains its color better.
What are some common problems associated with brick and stone?
Common problems with brick include cracking and moisture absorption, while stone may face issues such as erosion or biological growth.
Are there any specific tools required for working with stone versus brick?
Specialized tools for cutting and shaping are often required for stone, whereas brick typically requires standard masonry tools.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
