GOLDBRICK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does goldbrick mean? 

• GOLDBRICK (noun)
  The noun GOLDBRICK has 4 senses:

1. a soldier who performs his duties without proper care or effort

2. an idle worthless person

3. a brick-shaped block that looks like gold but is not

4. anything that is supposed to be valuable but turns out to be worthless

  Familiarity information: GOLDBRICK used as a noun is uncommon.

• GOLDBRICK (verb)
  The verb GOLDBRICK has 2 senses:

1. deprive of by deceit

2. avoid (one's assigned duties)

  Familiarity information: GOLDBRICK used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GOLDBRICK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A soldier who performs his duties without proper care or effort

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("goldbrick" is a kind of...):

shirker; slacker (a person who shirks his work or duty (especially one who tries to evade military service in wartime))

soldier (an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An idle worthless person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

goldbrick; good-for-naught; good-for-nothing; goof-off; ne'er-do-well; no-account

Hypernyms ("goldbrick" is a kind of...):

bum; do-nothing; idler; layabout; loafer (person who does no work)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A brick-shaped block that looks like gold but is not

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("goldbrick" is a kind of...):

block; cube (a three-dimensional shape with six square or rectangular sides)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Anything that is supposed to be valuable but turns out to be worthless

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("goldbrick" is a kind of...):

dupery; fraud; fraudulence; hoax; humbug; put-on (something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage)

Domain usage:

figure; figure of speech; image; trope (language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense)

• GOLDBRICK (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Deprive of by deceit

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

bunco; con; defraud; diddle; goldbrick; hornswoggle; mulct; nobble; rook; scam; short-change; swindle; victimize

Context example:

She defrauded the customers who trusted her

Hypernyms (to "goldbrick" is one way to...):

cheat; chisel; rip off (deprive somebody of something by deceit)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "goldbrick"):

short; short-change (cheat someone by not returning him enough money)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Avoid (one's assigned duties)

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

fiddle; goldbrick; shirk; shrink from

Context example:

The derelict soldier shirked his duties

Hypernyms (to "goldbrick" is one way to...):

avoid (refrain from doing something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "goldbrick"):

scrimshank (British military language: avoid work)

malinger; skulk (avoid responsibilities and duties, e.g., by pretending to be ill)

slack (avoid responsibilities and work, be idle)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

goldbricking (the evasion of work or duty)