noun
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a person who builds, esp one who contracts for and supervises the construction or repair of buildings
-
a substance added to a soap or detergent as a filler or abrasive
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of builder
First recorded in 1350–1400, builder is from the Middle English word bildere. See build, -er 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Raised in Queens, the son of a builder and a dressmaker, he lives in Brooklyn with his wife of 41 years, Katherine, and still takes the subway to watch his beloved Knicks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
The gloomy builder outlook could be an opportunity for home buyers who can afford current home prices.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
Entry-level builder Lennar recorded an average selling price of $372,000 in the third quarter, down from $383,000 the year prior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
HOA fees are also harder to avoid: 44% of homes for sale are now subject to a monthly HOA fee, in part due to builder preferences and a preference for HOAs among some municipalities.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
"I helped Pate carve the stone for the pommel," the builder said, "and your friend Sam bought the garnets in Mole's Town."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
"If AI demand disappoints, spending cuts could hit chipmakers, data-center builders and their financiers at once," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Nearly two-thirds of builders said immigration enforcement is affecting their workforce, compared to 13% a year ago, according to a John Burns Research and Consulting survey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
By creating more demand for new homes, he said, the hope is that builders will respond en masse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
Dozens of builders had been working on the upper floors when it collapsed, but managed to emerge largely unscathed.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
The college didn't want a farm, so it sold all the surrounding land to a developer who put in roads, sidewalks, and sewers, divided it up into lots, and sold it to builders.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
