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Synonyms

build on

Idioms  

  1. Also, build upon. Add as an extension; use as a basis or foundation. For example, They decided to build on an addition, or She was building all her hopes on passing the exam. John Locke had this idiom in his treatise on government (1689): “Sovereignty built on ‘property’ . . . comes to nothing.” [Late 1600s]

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.

Thurmond wants to build 2 million new homes for “working Californians,” in large part by encouraging school districts to build on 75,000 acres of surplus land that they own.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

That would build on promises made during Trump’s State of the Union address in February to boost retirement security for millions of Americans.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

As my prime minister said last month: “Ours is an indispensable partnership. We must not disregard everything that has sustained us for the last 80 years. Instead, we must build on it.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

Even if the test isn’t flawless, such development will remain critical to SpaceX’s efforts to build on its cost advantage, which threatens to disrupt everything from telecom to AI.

From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026

Down on our dirt road by the river there are just boats and wormy-looking docks and dock houses and whatever else you build on a flowing river.

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

Definitions 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.