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

Etymology

Origin of infrastructure

First recorded in 1925–30; infra + structure

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

Oil futures fell 1.6% to $100.30 a barrel as traders awaited Saudi Arabian plans to restore crude exports following attacks on its infrastructure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

While everyone argues about whether AI will eventually bring about the apocalypse, hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent building the infrastructure underneath it.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

In his new role, Anand will work across Disney to modernize its development and implementation of tech, as well as overseeing data and AI platforms, enterprise technology and infrastructure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

In a news conference at the Elysee Palace, Macron said he had called on the French government to prepare a plan to protect critical infrastructure and defence industry sites in the face of this threat.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 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

By contrast stablecoins move through proprietary, fragmented infrastructures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 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

More than $97 million was recovered and 11,432 malicious infrastructures were dismantled.

From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 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

Related Words

• base
• framework