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.

---

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

---

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

He stresses that the entire architecture of chattel enslavement was curated by Western slave-owning powers, who simply utilised local actors to help carry out their plans.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Her Instagram page once featured wholesome photos of architecture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

But officials confirmed no casualties or serious damage, notably to the southern city's Alhambra palace, a UNESCO-listed jewel of medieval Islamic architecture and the seat of Spain's last Muslim kingdom.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

The home, which was built in 1980, was always meant to serve as a relaxing sanctuary, having been inspired by Balinese architecture.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Whether a monument such as this should be termed architecture is a matter of definition.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

Tan described new memory architectures as one of his “pet projects” and pointed to tighter CPU-memory integration as a key area of focus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 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

Jalapeño was built around the memory, networking and compute patterns of large language models, rather than adapted from general-purpose architectures, according to the companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

Beyond the current demonstrations, the work supports NASA's broader effort to develop and validate commercial communications architectures that could support missions in low Earth orbit and eventually farther into space.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 6, 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