infrastructure

American  

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

noun

• infrastructures
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• infrastructural
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• infrastructures
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of infrastructure

First recorded in 1925–30; infra + structure

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Explanation

The infrastructure is the basic foundation or underlying framework of an organization or system. In your house, the infrastructure is the system of beams, weight-bearing walls and the foundation that keeps it standing. Infrastructure often refers to the equipment and structures required by the military or by a country or region. Roads, bridges, and school buildings are part of our nation's infrastructure, and are necessary for the continued growth of our communities. This word was formed as a compound in English, using the prefix infra- "below, underneath."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

infrastructure infrastructures

Erden said infrastructure updates were essential to give greater place to renewables.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

The authors point out that an uncertain tax and policy environment, poor infrastructure and high trade barriers “made chip fabrication an unattractive proposition in India.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Another chunk of the money will go toward helping first-time homebuyers and veterans buy homes, housing for farmworkers and infrastructure projects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

TfW's flagship scheme to transform an old Victorian railway into a turn-up-and-go rapid transit service, similar to the London Underground and Manchester Metrolink, is Wales' single-biggest infrastructure project since devolution in 1999.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

As these new phone companies came online, offering their own local, long-distance, international, data, and Internet services, each sought to have its own infrastructure.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

By contrast stablecoins move through proprietary, fragmented infrastructures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026

National infrastructures in many cases are not able to sustain mass-market electrification.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026

Even if these infrastructures are not directly hit—Tehran is a city of 14 million people in a densely populated urban environment.

From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2026

Efforts are also underway in Germany to establish national digital health infrastructures.

From Science Daily ● May 23, 2024

Some information technology experts warned that computers would not be able to distinguish the correct meaning of 00, resulting in widespread failure of vital infrastructures.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

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Related Words

• base
• framework

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