architecture

American  

[ahr-ki-tek-cher] / ˈɑr kɪˌtɛk tʃər /

noun

• architectures
  plural

1. the profession of designing buildings, open areas, communities, and other artificial constructions and environments, usually with some regard to aesthetic effect. Architecture often includes design or selection of furnishings and decorations, supervision of construction work, and the examination, restoration, or remodeling of existing buildings.

2. the character or style of building.

   the architecture of Paris; Romanesque architecture.

3. the action or process of building; construction.

4. the result or product of architectural work, as a building.

5. buildings collectively.

6. Computers. a fundamental underlying design of computer hardware, software, or both.

7. the structure of anything.

   the architecture of a novel.

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architecture British  

/ ˈɑːkɪˌtɛktʃə /

noun

1. the art and science of designing and superintending the erection of buildings and similar structures

2. a style of building or structure

   Gothic architecture

3. buildings or structures collectively

4. the structure or design of anything

   the architecture of the universe

5. the internal organization of a computer's components with particular reference to the way in which data is transmitted

6. the arrangement of the various devices in a complete computer system or network

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• architectural
  adjective
• architecturally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• architectures
  plural

Etymology

Origin of architecture

First recorded in 1555–65; from Middle French, from Latin architectūra; see architect, -ure

Explanation

Architecture is the process, or profession, of designing buildings and their environments. Architecture also refers to the product of this design and work. The root of the word architecture is the Greek arkhitekton ("master builder"), which makes sense because the ancient Greeks were very skilled at architecture — think of all those columns and stadiums and temples. The Parthenon, which was begun in 447 BC, is one of the greatest examples of architecture from Classical Greece.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

architecture architectures

Genome architecture does not appear to change randomly.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

“The industry standard of care needs to evolve to be better,” said Christine Williamson, an architecture professor at Virginia Tech.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Part of that will also likely be driven by its campus networking architecture for enterprises coming online, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

But that requires significant planning, the hiring of a major architecture firm with concert hall experience, a first-rate acoustician and, ideally, four times the allotted budget.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

The school's architecture reminds me of the school I attended.

From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse

"This could be extremely useful when thinking about next-generation spintronics and RAM architectures."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

China is reducing its own dependence on foreign-controlled architectures while positioning itself to lead in commercializing the open alternative.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

The architectures required to make directed-energy systems operational depend on sensor fusion — the real-time integration of radar, electro-optical and infrared data — combined with AI-driven threat classification and engagement prioritization.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

In many laser architectures, these nonlinear effects can destabilize the laser pulses.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2026

All living things on our planet are constructed of organic molecules—complex microscopic architectures in which the car- bon atom plays a central role.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• building
• construction
• engineering
• planning