construction

American  

[kuhn-struhk-shuhn] / kənˈstrʌk ʃən /

noun

1. the act or art of constructing.

2. the way in which a thing is constructed.

   a building of solid construction.

3. something that is constructed; a structure.

4. the occupation or industry of building.

   He works in construction.

5. Grammar.

   1. the arrangement of two or more forms in a grammatical unit. Constructions involving bound forms are often called morphological, as the bound forms fif- and -teen. Those involving only free forms are often called syntactic, as the good man, in the house.

   2. a word or phrase consisting of two or more forms arranged in a particular way.

   3. a group of words or morphemes for which there is a rule in some part of the grammar.

6. explanation or interpretation, as of a law, a text, or an action.

   Synonyms:

   story, rendition, version

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construction British  

/ kənˈstrʌkʃən /

noun

1. the process or act of constructing or manner in which a thing is constructed

2. the thing constructed; a structure

3. 1. the business or work of building dwellings, offices, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a construction site

4. an interpretation or explanation of a law, text, action, etc

   they put a sympathetic construction on her behaviour

5. grammar a group of words that together make up one of the constituents into which a sentence may be analysed; a phrase or clause

6. geometry a drawing of a line, angle, or figure satisfying certain conditions, used in solving a problem or proving a theorem

7. an abstract work of art in three dimensions or relief See also constructivism

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Other Word Forms

• constructional adjective
• constructionally adverb
• preconstruction noun

Etymology

Origin of construction

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin constrūctiōn-, stem of constrūctiō “placement together, building,” from constrūct(us) “put together” ( construct ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered a halt to construction, saying Trump needed congressional approval.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

Sixty-five percent of Americans oppose the construction of new data centers in their community.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Porter said her top priority is to lower housing costs by “building housing faster, building more housing, changing how we permit housing and innovating in construction and design and materials.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Instead, construction materials for a new home now cost builders thousands of dollars more, U.S. automakers have written off billions in tariff losses and the U.S. national debt has grown to more than $39 trillion.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

“I was awakened by whistling and shouting,” said Zvonko Springer, who worked on road construction.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Related Words

• development
• manufacture
• plan
• planning
• structure
• system