edifice
Americannoun
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a building, especially one of large size or imposing appearance.
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any large, complex system or organization.
noun
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a building, esp a large or imposing one
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a complex or elaborate institution or organization
Related Words
See building.
Other Word Forms
- edificial adjective
- unedificial adjective
Etymology
Origin of edifice
1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, Middle French < Latin aedificium, equivalent to aedific ( āre ) to build ( edify ) + -ium -ium
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.
Most Europeans see trans-Atlanticism as something like an edifice, with a wooden facade built over brick walls sitting on granite foundations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
Thick layers of sediment rich in organic material lie beneath the volcanic edifice.
From Science Daily • Nov. 26, 2025
It’s why you have to have this edifice and why it needs to be worked on constantly.
From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025
Littler is the beneficiary, but has added another story to the edifice.
From BBC • Jan. 3, 2025
Every day the remarkable edifice served as a monument to her profound change in circumstances.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
