verb (used with object), built or (Archaic) build·ed; build·ing.
- to construct (especially something complex) by assembling and joining parts or materials: to build a house.
- to establish, increase, or strengthen (often followed by up): to build a business; to build up one’s hopes.
- to mold, form, or create: to build boys into men.
- to base; found: a relationship built on trust.
- Games.
- to make (words) from letters.
- to assemble (cards) according to number, suit, etc., as in melding.
verb (used without object), built or (Archaic) build·ed; build·ing.
- to engage in the art, practice, or business of building.
- to form or construct a plan, system of thought, etc. (usually followed by on or upon): He built on the philosophies of the past.
- to increase or develop toward a maximum, as of intensity, tempo, or magnitude (often followed by up): The drama builds steadily toward a climax.
noun
- the physical structure, especially of a person; physique; figure: He had a strong build.
- the manner or form of construction: The house was of modern build.
- Computers.
- a version of a program after compilation, typically an update to an existing version made before the program is released.
- the process of producing a software build.
- a new version or update of data in a database or on a website: frequent, incremental builds of data.
- Masonry.
- a vertical joint.
- the vertical dimension of a stone laid on its bed.
Verb Phrases
- build in/into, to build or incorporate as part of something else: to build in bookcases between the windows; an allowance for travel expenses built into the budget.
- build up,
- to develop or increase: to build up a bank account.
- to strengthen.
- to prepare in stages.
- to fill in with houses; develop into an urban area.
- to praise or flatter.
noun
- a relatively permanent enclosed construction over a plot of land, having a roof and usually windows and often more than one level, used for any of a wide variety of activities, as living, entertaining, or manufacturing.
- anything built or constructed.
- the act, business, or practice of constructing houses, office buildings, etc.
noun
- something built with a roof and walls, such as a house or factory
- the act, business, occupation, or art of building houses, boats, etc
verb builds, building or built
- to make, construct, or form by joining parts or materialsto build a house
- (intr) to be a builder by profession
- (tr) to order the building ofthe government builds most of our hospitals
- (foll by on or upon) to base; foundhis theory was not built on facts
- (tr) to establish and developit took ten years to build a business
- (tr) to make in a particular way or for a particular purposethe car was not built for speed
- (intr often foll by up) to increase in intensitythe wind was building
- cards
- to add cards to each other to form (a sequence or set)
- (intr)to add to the layout of cards on the table from one’s hand
noun
- physical form, figure, or proportionsa man with an athletic build
v.late Old English byldan “construct a house,” verb form of bold “house,” from Proto-Germanic *buthlam (cf. Old Saxon bodl, Old Frisian bodel “building, house”), from PIE *bhu- “to dwell,” from root *bheue- “to be, exist, grow” (see be). Rare in Old English; in Middle English it won out over more common Old English timbran (see timber). Modern spelling is unexplained. Figurative use from mid-15c. Of physical things other than buildings from late 16c. Related: Builded (archaic); built; building. In the United States, this verb is used with much more latitude than in England. There, as Fennimore Cooper puts it, everything is BUILT. The priest BUILDS up a flock; the speculator a fortune; the lawyer a reputation; the landlord a town; and the tailor, as in England, BUILDS up a suit of clothes. A fire is BUILT instead of made, and the expression is even extended to individuals, to be BUILT being used with the meaning of formed. [Farmer, “Slang and Its Analogues,” 1890] n.“a structure,” c.1300, verbal noun from build (v.). n.“style of construction,” 1660s, from build (v.). Earlier in this sense was built (1610s). Meaning “physical construction and fitness of a person” attested by 1981. Earliest sense, now obsolete, was “a building” (early 14c.). In addition to the idioms beginning with build
also see:
Also see underbuilt.