infrastructure

American  

[in-fruh-struhk-cher] / ˈɪn frəˌstrʌk tʃər /

noun

1. the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, as transportation and communication systems, power plants, and schools.

   Investments in infrastructure helped the U.S. economy recover from the Great Depression.

2. the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization.

   Over the years, as the incidence of cancer increased, the infrastructure of the hospital was developed to accommodate the new cases.

   Synonyms:

   support, foundation, basis

3. the military installations of a country.

   We could do much with just a fraction of the billions spent to maintain our robust overseas infrastructure.

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infrastructure British  

/ ˈɪnfrəˌstrʌktʃə /

noun

1. the basic structure of an organization, system, etc

2. the stock of fixed capital equipment in a country, including factories, roads, schools, etc, considered as a determinant of economic growth

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Other Word Forms

• infrastructural adjective

Etymology

Origin of infrastructure

First recorded in 1925–30; infra + structure

Example Sentences

Iran still has control over ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20% of the world oil typically flows—and damaged oil infrastructure in the Middle East could take years to rebuild.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

But access to clean water remains a challenge in many parts of India, especially in summer, due to reasons including water shortages, groundwater contamination and infrastructure gaps.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

Microsoft advanced 3.1% after the tech giant said it would invest more than $1 billion External link in cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure in Thailand between 2026 and 2028.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

Seymore also said that the company has maintained an additional stream of non-AI-chip-related revenue, including from its infrastructure software business.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

A contractor by trade, he focused on commercial infrastructure projects, like plumbing and heating; he was a Republican, like most of the legislators, but a moderate one.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Related Words

• base
• framework