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

The hack has prompted South Korea to call for increased protections for its digital infrastructure against cyberattacks.

From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026

Now, however, one of the bigger questions facing investors is whether all the borrowings for the data-center and infrastructure buildout are going to get paid back adequately, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

With the Iran war threatening key energy infrastructure and shipping lanes, producers are increasingly looking beyond their borders to keep crude flowing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

Oracle shares retreated 8.8% to $119.22 after the software maker unveiled plans to raise $20 billion of debt and equity as it looks to finance AI infrastructure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

A natural-born engineer, Rob loved infrastructure, electronics, and gadgets of all kinds; he spent his spare time endlessly tinkering with the solar electrical system or reading back issues of Popular Science.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

But while their styles might appear retro, their infrastructures are cutting edge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Furthermore, Mediterranean countries have very extensive tourism infrastructures.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

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

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026

"The proposed decentralized latency-aware peer-selection mechanism can serve as a foundation for future blockchain platforms that support real-time, mission-critical IoT services, ultimately enabling more secure, responsive, and trustworthy digital infrastructures," explains Dr. Nguyen.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 22, 2026

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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