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

---

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

Walking trails, native gardens and playpens ring the structure, watched over by an army of volunteers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Published in the London Review of Books, external, Wilson said she "would be ashamed to have written any of this script", describing the film's narrative structure as "gimmicky."

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Lawyers were learning from their clients and family members both what happened and how to structure the legal claims.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

Those talks faltered in late April, a decision Pernod said was mutual and related to differences over deal structure and economics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

This could be done with a structure known as a wormhole.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Upon entering the property, guests are greeted with an expansive floor plan that is accentuated by the bright furniture and unique ceiling structures.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

He said the site was also now not suitable for agriculture due to the presence of buried structures, and that the solar equipment would power his house and up to seven other properties.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

The researchers used numerical simulations to examine the internal structures and thermal evolution of Jupiter and Saturn when the planets were young.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

No structures had been damaged or destroyed as of Sunday night, according to Cal Fire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

The archaeological community initially found it difficult to credit these findings, but one test after another confirmed both the early date of the structures and the pre-agricultural society of their builders.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

This made it possible to observe the underlying interaction between the structured light and the molecular shape more directly.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

"This policy is not exclusion, it is structured inclusion," said Payne Farai Kupfuwa, founder of the Young Miners Foundation, welcoming the move.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

Harriet thinks thought needs to be given to the way the school year is structured.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Three years ago, the FDA placed restrictions on 14 peptides over safety risks, meaning they now fall somewhere between the unregulated world of supplements and the highly structured process of testing new drugs.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Europe was overwhelmingly Christian, and society structured itself around the belief that God’s rule over mankind was absolute, as was a king’s rule over his realm and a husband’s rule over his household.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

They fired the marketing department and put John in charge of everything, structuring things to bring creativity into all aspects of the company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 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 was asked by liana Bouzali, Morgan Stanley’s global head of derivatives, distribution and structuring, how he would construct a hedge-fund portfolio from scratch today.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 28, 2026

The review also outlines fast-moving developments in multidimensional entanglement, ultrafast temporal structuring, advanced nonlinear detection techniques, and compact on-chip devices that can generate or process higher-dimensional quantum light than ever before.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 26, 2026

But all of this intricate structuring was hidden.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

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