build
Americanverb (used with object)
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builds,
present (3rd person singular)
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built,
past participle, past
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builded,
past participle, past (Archaic)
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building
present participle
-
to construct (especially something complex) by assembling and joining parts or materials.
to build a house.
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to establish, increase, or strengthen (often followed byup ).
to build a business;
to build up one's hopes.
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to mold, form, or create.
to build students into skilled professionals.
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a relationship built on trust.
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Games.
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to make (words) from letters.
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to assemble (cards) according to number, suit, etc., as in melding.
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to create (a character in a role-playing game) by choosing a job class and/or a set of attributes, skills, weapons, armor, etc.; spec.
If you want to build a Warlock, choosing Half-Elf for your race will give you more spells and magic resistance.
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verb (used without object)
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builds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
built,
past participle, past
-
builded,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
building
present participle
-
to engage in the art, practice, or business of building.
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to form or construct a plan, system of thought, etc. (usually followed by on orupon ).
He built on the philosophies of the past.
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to increase or develop toward a maximum, as of intensity, tempo, or magnitude (often followed byup ).
The drama builds steadily toward a climax.
noun
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builds
plural
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the physical structure, especially of a person; physique; figure.
He had a strong build.
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the manner or form of construction.
The house was of modern build.
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Computers.
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a version of a program after compilation, typically an update to an existing version made before the program is released.
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the process of producing a software build.
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a new version or update of data in a database or on a website.
frequent, incremental builds of data.
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(in a video game or tabletop role-playing game) a set of attributes, skills, weapons, armor, and other items chosen by the player that affect the character’s speed, strength, intelligence, etc., which may make the character more effective in some roles and less effective in others.
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Masonry.
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a vertical joint.
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the vertical dimension of a stone laid on its bed.
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verb phrase
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build in / into to build or incorporate as part of something else: an allowance for travel expenses built into the budget.
to build in bookcases between the windows;
an allowance for travel expenses built into the budget.
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build out to expand, construct, or develop: The team used to manually build out its marketing email list, but now it's automatic.
They decided to build out the road network to connect the two towns.
The team used to manually build out its marketing email list, but now it's automatic.
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build up
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to develop or increase.
to build up a bank account.
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to strengthen.
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to prepare in stages.
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to fill in with houses; develop into an urban area.
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to praise or flatter.
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verb
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to make, construct, or form by joining parts or materials
to build a house
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(intr) to be a builder by profession
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(tr) to order the building of
the government builds most of our hospitals
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to base; found
his theory was not built on facts
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(tr) to establish and develop
it took ten years to build a business
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(tr) to make in a particular way or for a particular purpose
the car was not built for speed
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to increase in intensity
the wind was building
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cards
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to add cards to each other to form (a sequence or set)
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(intr) to add to the layout of cards on the table from one's hand
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noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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misbuildverb
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superbuildverb
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underbuildverb
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outbuildverb (used with object)
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prebuildverb (used with object)
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buildableadjective
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unbuildableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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buildsimple
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buildssimple
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have buildedperfect
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have builtperfect
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has buildedperfect
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has builtperfect
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am buildingprogressive
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are buildingprogressive
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is buildingprogressive
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have been buildingperfect progressive
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has been buildingperfect progressive
Past
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buildedsimple
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builtsimple
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had buildedperfect
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had builtperfect
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was buildingprogressive
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were buildingprogressive
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had been buildingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of build
First recorded before 1150; from Middle English bilden, Old English byldan, derivative of bold, variant of botl “dwelling, house”
Explanation
To build is to construct or make something. When you build a house, you start at the very bottom, with the foundation, and work your way up. You build a birdhouse using scraps of wood, a hammer, and nails, or you can build a career as a poet by writing daily and submitting poems to literary magazines. In both examples, you're constructing something yourself using materials and hard work. Another meaning is to make stronger: "I have to build my endurance if I'm going to finish that marathon." The Old English root of build, byldan, specifically means "build a house," from bold, "house."
Vocabulary lists containing build
"The Giving Tree"
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Make
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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:
Blue Origin, Google, Cowboy Space and others have all said they plan to build orbital data centers, which would likely consist of hundreds of thousands of satellites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
However, efforts to build ties were criticised by some MPs concerned about China's alleged spying activities in the UK.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
The Lakers take a 21-point lead in the first quarter and build it to 25 before the Warriors race back to tie the score at halftime and win the second-half battle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
In June, Lee announced a public-private partnership centred on "three mega-projects" -- aiming to expand chip production hubs nationwide, establish robotics research and development centres, and build gigawatt-scale AI data centres.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
He kept it closed, hoping the moisture would build up enough to cleanse his eye.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Mehndiratta, who joined Thrive as a partner in 2021 and previously worked on data science at Blackstone, said the company builds dedicated engineering teams alongside experienced practitioners in each industry to find and remove bottlenecks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
SK Hynix executives on a conference call said that even as it builds more fabs, the rising share of high-performance products like HBM chips demands more resources.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
Fatty liver, the earliest stage of MASLD, occurs when excess fat builds up in the liver.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026
But the reality outside shows how much work remains to bridge the gap between the remarkable things this city builds and the often neglected spaces between.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
“Oi don’t even graze my pegs there, but that daft bastard builds a house ” He shook his head, disgusted.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
“Here where Nature has builded her finest playground, man has added the material things which provide the comforts that make life worth while,” proclaimed a 1921 advertisement in The Times titled “The Great Southwest.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2022
Percy Haughton's widow watched the Columbia team that he had builded sink to defeat before Cornell at Ithaca.
From Time Magazine Archive
Booker T. Washington, who was a seven-year-old on a Virginia plantation when Shaw died, rose to say that the "real monument" to Shaw "is being slowly but safely builded among the lowly."
From Time Magazine Archive
It is prophesied that the sound of the hammer will not cease for five years in Washington, at the end of which time the house will be builded.
From Time Magazine Archive
Oh, he was not lying; his own triumph had outrun him; he had builded even better in evil than even he could have hoped.
From "Absalom, Absalom!" by William Faulkner
Silverman said that in Japan, “corporate-governance reforms have enhanced efficiency and built dividend opportunities for investors.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
China has built the world’s largest navy with a battle force of over 400 ships and submarines, which is about 35% larger than the U.S. fleet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
The sector's success has been built on a vast, relatively low-paid workforce, with longstanding disputes over wages, working conditions and labour rights.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
His expertise helps explain what makes neutrinos so unusual and why scientists built an enormous observatory deep within the Antarctic ice to study them.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
In the years that followed, the Johnston Ridge Observatory was built there as a formal part of the national monument.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
If that happens, building costs could begin to pull underlying inflation lower in the coming quarters, he added.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Before he entered public service, Paxton spent 14 years launching and building his own law firm.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
These early building blocks eventually combined to create the planets we see today.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
“I’ve always been about building coalitions, keeping my eyes on the prize, working with people who disagree with me, working with people who don’t like me,” Bass said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
That squat concrete building, that smoke disappearing in the bright sunlight—no!
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
