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

From my perspective as a former manager, I know supporters just want to see their teams win, and they will prioritise performances over infrastructure all day long.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

Damaging the island’s oil infrastructure would raise prices further.

From The Wall Street Journal • 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

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

Officials and lawmakers now had to balance any spending on science against other burgeoning demands—for social programs, highways, school buildings, and other physical infrastructure.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• base
• framework