building
Americannoun
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a relatively permanent enclosed construction over a plot of land, having a roof and usually windows and often more than one level, used for any of a wide variety of activities, as living, entertaining, or manufacturing.
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the act, business, or practice of constructing houses, office buildings, etc.
noun
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something built with a roof and walls, such as a house or factory
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the act, business, occupation, or art of building houses, boats, etc
Related Words
Building, edifice, structure refer to something built. Building and structure may apply to either a finished or an unfinished product of construction, and carry no implications as to size or condition. Edifice is a more formal word and narrower in application, referring to a completed structure, and usually a large and imposing one. Building generally connotes a useful purpose (houses, schools, business offices, etc.); structure suggests the planning and constructive process.
Other Word Forms
- buildingless adjective
- underbuilding noun
Etymology
Origin of building
First recorded in 1250–1300, building is from the Middle English word byldinge. See build, -ing 1
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.
A cordon was put in place around the part-demolished building and an excavator machine, sitting on top of a pile of rubble.
From BBC
One person has died and 300 homes and buildings have been destroyed in bushfires that have torn across south-east Australia.
From BBC
"We've already had to make adaptations to our building, which is quite costly," says Smith, head teacher since it opened in September 2021.
From BBC
"His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them."
From Barron's
Bushfires have razed hundreds of buildings across southeast Australia, authorities said Sunday, as they confirmed the first death from the disaster.
From Barron's
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.
