- present participle of build.
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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anything built or constructed.
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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
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of building
First recorded in 1250–1300, building is from the Middle English word byldinge. See build, -ing 1
Explanation
Building is the process of making something. Building Lego cities and towns is the favorite activity of many kids. When a construction company is building a structure like a grocery store or a school, you can say it's building a building. Anything from a small house to a skyscraper can be called a building, and both meanings of the word come from the verb build, with its Old English root byldan, "build or construct a house."
Vocabulary lists containing building
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:
But building alternate routes to give the region’s energy-export system more resilience will take billions of dollars, and the pipelines meant to bypass the strait and its vulnerability could themselves become targets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
This approach may require building a larger emergency fund.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Images from the scene show the roof of the building was completely destroyed, while other parts have been severely damaged.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
The researchers emphasize that the study does not provide a blueprint for building better artificial intelligence.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
It’s in the new wing of the building, which finished construction last summer.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
But the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes on June 24 decimated the city, with mountains of rubble replacing the high-rise buildings that once lined the coast.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
Venezuelan medical students, doctors and veterinarians are offering primary care out of a McDonald’s that was among the few buildings left intact after the quakes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Officials also said they were requiring buildings to fully clean and disinfect their cooling towers after one positive test result, instead of waiting for additional testing to confirm the presence of the bacteria.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
He was shocked by the Venezuelan government’s response, as well as the substandard construction that led buildings to collapse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
On the other side were four large metal buildings.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
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.
