structure

[struhk-cher]

noun

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)

structured, structuring 

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of structure¹

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; -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of structure¹

C15: from Latin structūra, from struere to build

Synonym Study

See building.

Example Sentences

On the one hand, it suggested that researchers could stick two different kinds of organoids together -- say, a tiny cerebellum and spinal cord -- to study the development of more complex brain structures.

Read more on Science Daily

But it is props not participants that bosses at one of the show's host venues are keen to get out of the building to raise funds for what is one of Wales' most at-risk structures.

Read more on BBC

The team's findings, published in Physical Review Applied, build on decades of theory and computer modeling to produce real-world structures that can passively disrupt vibrations traveling through them.

Read more on Science Daily

The film revolutionized the structure and grammar of modern cinema as surely as Orson Welles’s “Citizen Kane” had a decade earlier, and as Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” would a decade later.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

They are also the driving force behind the Punk Rock Fight Club, a Southern California-based organization dedicated to improving young men’s lives through fitness and structure.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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