structure

American  

[struhk-cher] / ˈstrʌk tʃər /

noun

• structures
  plural

1. mode of building, construction, or organization; arrangement of parts, elements, or constituents.

   a pyramidal structure.

   Synonyms:

   configuration, form, system

2. something built or constructed, as a building, bridge, or dam.

3. a complex system considered from the point of view of the whole rather than of any single part.

   the structure of modern science.

4. anything composed of parts arranged together in some way; an organization.

5. the relationship or organization of the component parts of a work of art or literature.

   the structure of a poem.

6. Biology. mode of organization; construction and arrangement of tissues, parts, or organs.

7. Geology.

   1. the attitude of a bed or stratum or of beds or strata of sedimentary rocks, as indicated by the dip and strike.

   2. the coarser composition of a rock, as contrasted with its texture.

8. Chemistry. the manner in which atoms in a molecule are joined to each other, especially in organic chemistry where molecular arrangement is represented by a diagram or model.

9. Sociology. social structure.

10. the pattern of organization of a language as a whole or of arrangements of linguistic units, as phonemes, morphemes or tagmemes, within larger units.

---

verb (used with object)

• structures,
  present (3rd person singular)
• structured,
  past participle,  past
• structuring
  present participle

1. to give a structure, organization, or arrangement to; construct or build a systematic framework for.

   to structure a curriculum so well that a novice teacher can use it.

structure British  

/ ˈstrʌktʃə /

noun

1. a complex construction or entity

2. the arrangement and interrelationship of parts in a construction, such as a building

3. the manner of construction or organization

   the structure of society

4. biology morphology; form

5. chem the arrangement of atoms in a molecule of a chemical compound

   the structure of benzene

6. geology the way in which a mineral, rock, rock mass or stratum, etc, is made up of its component parts

7. rare the act of constructing

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verb

1. (tr) to impart a structure to

Synonym Usage

See building.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interstructure
  noun
• nonstructure
  noun
• destructure
  verb (used with object)
• prestructure
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• structures
  plural

Participles

• structuring
  present
• structured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• structure
  simple
• structures
  simple
• have structured
  perfect
• has structured
  perfect
• am structuring
  progressive
• are structuring
  progressive
• is structuring
  progressive
• have been structuring
  perfect progressive
• has been structuring
  perfect progressive

Past

• structured
  simple
• had structured
  perfect
• was structuring
  progressive
• were structuring
  progressive
• had been structuring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will structure
  simple
• will have structured
  perfect
• will be structuring
  progressive
• will have been structuring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of structure

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin structūra, equivalent to struct(us) (past participle of struere “to put together”) + -ūra noun suffix; see -ure

Explanation

A structure is something of many parts that is put together. A structure can be a skyscraper, an outhouse, your body, or a sentence. Structure is from the Latin word structura which means "a fitting together, building." Although it's certainly used to describe buildings, it can do more than that. A family's structure includes the relationship of its members, your body structure can refer to how your muscles and bones fit together. Sentence structure is how a sentence is put together, including subjects, verbs, and all that stuff English teachers love to yap about. Structure is usually a noun, but it can also be a verb meaning to impose order, like if you "structure an argument to convince your parents to let you stay out later."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

structure structures structured structuring

Kyiv's bridges had not been hit before Thursday's strikes - and despite a dramatic explosion close to a main support section, city authorities said preliminary checks "did not find any critical damage to the structure".

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

He thinks the structure of the copper market could make it hard to get metal out of the U.S., no matter how the tariff question resolves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

One produces unusual eggs with a distinctive lidlike structure.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

The new structure, as Supervisor Lindsey Horvath stated at a February board meeting, would impact 14 units representing about 16,500 employees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

It had to do with the structure of the loans, which were fixed for two or three years at an artificially low teaser rate before shooting up to the “go-to” floating rate.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

In the coming weeks, permanent plaza fences will be erected here — curvy stainless-steel structures that MAD Architects principal Dixon Junliang Lu compared to the lacy filigree of Art Nouveau architecture.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The two organizations have different business models, newsroom cultures and labor structures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Researchers using different extraction techniques produced fractions with different structures and different levels of utilization by gut microbes.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

That could involve redesigning tax structures to "make it a bit more attractive to hold on to workers than automating them," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Then I watched as planes sank into them, and I stared, bewildered, at the TV as the unimaginably tall structures swayed, then buckled.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

“As the market matures, investors are becoming more precise about how that exposure is structured and which risks they actually want to take.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Beutner had structured Proposition 28 precisely to prevent this supplanting of funds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Professional kitchens demand long hours and enormous physical and emotional energy, and the industry has historically been structured around the expectation that someone else is handling the rest of your life.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

Rather than depending primarily on chemistry, the material itself is structured to provide the desired function.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Smith also made a point of giving Seabiscuit a structured life.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

I’d love to hear any practical suggestions for structuring this so that it is easy for the restaurant, seamless for the staff and customers, and doesn’t create unnecessary headaches for anyone.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Her way of structuring assets is to move everything to the well spouse.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

In one direct threat, OpenAI is building a platform for connecting and structuring data that some said competes with Palantir, staffed in part by ex-Palantir employees, people familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026

Prosecutors charged Thola-Duran with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, to receive and transport stolen property interstate, and to commit money laundering, and structuring transactions to avoid federal financial reporting requirements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

He runs his fingers through his hair, structuring it just so.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

• architecture
• arrangement
• complex
• construction
• design
• format
• formation
• framework
• network
• organization
• system