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

The LNM is hosted on Google Cloud infrastructure in Oregon, operating on 87% carbon-free renewable energy.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026

Oil fields largely skirted bombing damage, though pipelines, petrochemical plants and other infrastructure sustained hits.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 20, 2026

Hernandez advocated for a 90-day public comment window and also called for presentations on underground infrastructure, especially in the wake of the East L.A. pipeline that was punctured during construction work in late May.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has examined how Burnham might pay for this by looking at how previous big infrastructure projects were funded - CrossRail and the Northern Line expansion.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026

As they’d cut deep into the mountain, the miners had left large pillars and walls of stone to support the infrastructure.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• base
• framework