architecture

American  

[ahr-ki-tek-cher] / ˈɑr kɪˌtɛk tʃər /

noun

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

• architectural
  adjective
• architecturally
  adverb

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

Gehry Partners, the architecture firm established by the late Frank Gehry in 2001, released renderings of its redesign, which includes a curving glass canopy above a staircase leading to the Lower Tram entrance.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026

Volkswagen is paying $700m for access to XPeng's software architecture and autonomous driving systems to develop its next generation of EVs - technology it has acknowledged it could not develop fast enough at home.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

They give us Gothic architecture in its embryonic state, designs realized in graphic form just before their incarnation as solid matter.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026

Their role is shifting from implementation to governance, from configuration to architecture, from maintenance to judgment.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

Lin was now in her final semester at Yale, studying architecture.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

Related Words

• building
• construction
• engineering
• planning