build

American  

[bild] / bɪld /

verb (used with object)

• builds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• built,
  past participle,  past
• builded,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• building
  present participle

1. to construct (especially something complex) by assembling and joining parts or materials.

   to build a house.

2. to establish, increase, or strengthen (often followed byup ).

   to build a business;

   to build up one's hopes.

3. to mold, form, or create.

   to build students into skilled professionals.

4. to base; found.

   a relationship built on trust.

5. Games.

   1. to make (words) from letters.

   2. to assemble (cards) according to number, suit, etc., as in melding.

   3. to create (a character in a role-playing game) by choosing a job class and/or a set of attributes, skills, weapons, armor, etc.; spec.

      If you want to build a Warlock, choosing Half-Elf for your race will give you more spells and magic resistance.

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verb (used without object)

• builds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• built,
  past participle,  past
• builded,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• building
  present participle

1. to engage in the art, practice, or business of building.

2. to form or construct a plan, system of thought, etc. (usually followed by on orupon ).

   He built on the philosophies of the past.

3. to increase or develop toward a maximum, as of intensity, tempo, or magnitude (often followed byup ).

   The drama builds steadily toward a climax.

noun

• builds
  plural

1. the physical structure, especially of a person; physique; figure.

   He had a strong build.

2. the manner or form of construction.

   The house was of modern build.

3. Computers.

   1. a version of a program after compilation, typically an update to an existing version made before the program is released.

   2. the process of producing a software build.

   3. a new version or update of data in a database or on a website.

      frequent, incremental builds of data.

4. (in a video game or tabletop role-playing game) a set of attributes, skills, weapons, armor, and other items chosen by the player that affect the character’s speed, strength, intelligence, etc., which may make the character more effective in some roles and less effective in others.

5. Masonry.

   1. a vertical joint.

   2. the vertical dimension of a stone laid on its bed.

verb phrase

1. build in / into to build or incorporate as part of something else: an allowance for travel expenses built into the budget.

   to build in bookcases between the windows;

   an allowance for travel expenses built into the budget.

2. build out to expand, construct, or develop: The team used to manually build out its marketing email list, but now it's automatic.

   They decided to build out the road network to connect the two towns.

   The team used to manually build out its marketing email list, but now it's automatic.

3. build up

   1. to develop or increase.

      to build up a bank account.

   2. to strengthen.

   3. to prepare in stages.

   4. to fill in with houses; develop into an urban area.

   5. to praise or flatter.

build British  

/ bɪld /

verb

1. to make, construct, or form by joining parts or materials

   to build a house

2. (intr) to be a builder by profession

3. (tr) to order the building of

   the government builds most of our hospitals

4. to base; found

   his theory was not built on facts

5. (tr) to establish and develop

   it took ten years to build a business

6. (tr) to make in a particular way or for a particular purpose

   the car was not built for speed

7. to increase in intensity

   the wind was building

8. cards

   1. to add cards to each other to form (a sequence or set)

   2. (intr) to add to the layout of cards on the table from one's hand

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noun

1. physical form, figure, or proportions

   a man with an athletic build

build Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing build

• built
• light (build) a fire under

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misbuild
  verb
• superbuild
  verb
• underbuild
  verb
• outbuild
  verb (used with object)
• prebuild
  verb (used with object)
• buildable
  adjective
• unbuildable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• builds
  plural

Participles

• building
  present
• builded
  past
• built
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• build
  simple
• builds
  simple
• have builded
  perfect
• have built
  perfect
• has builded
  perfect
• has built
  perfect
• am building
  progressive
• are building
  progressive
• is building
  progressive
• have been building
  perfect progressive
• has been building
  perfect progressive

Past

• builded
  simple
• built
  simple
• had builded
  perfect
• had built
  perfect
• was building
  progressive
• were building
  progressive
• had been building
  perfect progressive

Future

• will build
  simple
• will have builded
  perfect
• will have built
  perfect
• will be building
  progressive
• will have been building
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of build

First recorded before 1150; from Middle English bilden, Old English byldan, derivative of bold, variant of botl “dwelling, house”

Explanation

To build is to construct or make something. When you build a house, you start at the very bottom, with the foundation, and work your way up. You build a birdhouse using scraps of wood, a hammer, and nails, or you can build a career as a poet by writing daily and submitting poems to literary magazines. In both examples, you're constructing something yourself using materials and hard work. Another meaning is to make stronger: "I have to build my endurance if I'm going to finish that marathon." The Old English root of build, byldan, specifically means "build a house," from bold, "house."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

build builds builded built building

In his video, Rangzen criticized Chinese policies and urged exiled Tibetans to help build a new future.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

The only option to build the facility was to demolish the Trojans’ longtime baseball field and displace the program for multiple seasons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Fourth, we need licenses that let people freely use and modify what they build.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

In your 40s: This is the decade to build the tax structure, not just the balance.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

Helping her build a gate to send Tiamat to another world felt a little like helping to weave a rope for his own hanging.

From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville

It would’ve been easier to create fresh builds or buy new decor and furnishings, Cain admits, but then it wouldn’t feel like the right setting to him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Unlike conventional methods that shape a part by cutting away material or filling a mold, additive manufacturing builds an object by placing material only where it is required.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

“While tech bubble builds can overcome such headwinds and uncertainty longer-term, shorter-term drawdowns and rotations into value are not unusual,” the strategists said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

It drives physical development, builds muscle, and controls sex drive, primarily in males, but it also supports health in females.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Vu Lee asks what if Father escaped to France but can’t remember his own history, so he builds a new family and is happy?

From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai

“Here where Nature has builded her finest playground, man has added the material things which provide the comforts that make life worth while,” proclaimed a 1921 advertisement in The Times titled “The Great Southwest.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2022

It is prophesied that the sound of the hammer will not cease for five years in Washington, at the end of which time the house will be builded.

From Time Magazine Archive

Born luckily to place and power, Premier Jon Bratiano has held and builded upon both.

From Time Magazine Archive

Here William Rufus had builded; here Coke and Bacon handed down the Law.

From Time Magazine Archive

Oh, he was not lying; his own triumph had outrun him; he had builded even better in evil than even he could have hoped.

From "Absalom, Absalom!" by William Faulkner

It built a reputation over decades backing software winners such as business software company Monday.com and cybersecurity startup Wiz, which was acquired by Alphabet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

By early this year, 70% of all new fine-tuned models—the derivative works researchers and developers build on top of base models—were built on Chinese foundations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

"EasyJet is a leader in European aviation, having built a differentiated market position through its compelling customer proposition, expansive network and strong brand," said Alex van Hoek, partner and European private equity lead at Apollo.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

I wasn’t yet sure whether a festival built around it could preserve the reason why.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

I built a library, a playroom, and a dining room with some of the other boxes.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan

“The importance of just getting everybody together and on the same page and pushing in the same direction, this building is one of the first real signs of that. Because this took everybody.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

That building was “80% subterranean”, according to Fucci — with not nearly enough space to contain the football program, let alone the other sports programs that used it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Fifth, government and industry alike should fund the shared plumbing of an open-weight environment—testing tools, public datasets, computing power for universities—so that building on American models is the easy choice, not an act of patriotism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

The court hearing took place in Jenkinson's absence as he was blocked from the building after arriving with his dog.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Instead, he’d thrown himself into keeping the mushroom alive: fertilizing the surrounding trees so they’d offer more shade, digging tiny channels to direct rainwater, building a fence.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• assemble
• erect
• evolve
• form
• make
• manufacture
• produce
• raise
• reconstruct
• set up