de bric et de broc

\də bʁi.k‿e də bʁɔk\

/\də bʁi.k‿e də bʁɔk\/ adv

The verdict

“de bric et de broc” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
18
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Au hasard des trouvailles ; de façon disparate, hétéroclite.

Key facts for de bric et de broc
PropertyValue
Headwordde bric et de broc
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\də bʁi.k‿e də bʁɔk\
Letters18
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “de bric et de broc” sits in French frequency

de bric et de broc falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for de bric et de broc is 18 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \də bʁi.k‿e də bʁɔk\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for de bric et de broc in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is de bric et de broc, spelled D-E- -B-R-I-C- -E-T- -D-E- -B-R-O-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Au hasard des trouvailles ; de façon disparate, hétéroclite.
  2. 2
    N’importe comment, sans soin.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "de bric et de broc"?
"de bric et de broc" is spelled D-E- -B-R-I-C- -E-T- -D-E- -B-R-O-C. The IPA pronunciation is \də bʁi.k‿e də bʁɔk\.
What does "de bric et de broc" mean?
As an adverb, "de bric et de broc" means: Au hasard des trouvailles ; de façon disparate, hétéroclite.
How do you pronounce "de bric et de broc"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "de bric et de broc" is \də bʁi.k‿e də bʁɔk\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "de bric et de broc" come from?
"de bric et de broc" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “de bric et de broc”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is D-E- -B-R-I-C- -E-T- -D-E- -B-R-O-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \də bʁi.k‿e də bʁɔk\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list