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

Barrot said the attacks targeted government ministries, companies, and service operators, with the aim "either of capturing information or sabotaging operations, for example rail infrastructure, as was the case in Poland".

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

China’s dominance may be hard to reverse, as it’s built on lower labor costs and transport infrastructure that enjoys focused government investment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Supply-side pressures and sticky inflation have been driven by labor scarcity, energy constraints and years of infrastructure underinvestment, said Almeida, who expects these factors to keep production costs elevated and interest rates higher for longer.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026

It estimated potential benefits valued at over A$2.0 billion, in big part from sharing infrastructure at their nearby operations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

He highlights the damage done to key infrastructure in various districts, and as he speaks, parts of the map light up, showing images of the destruction.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

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

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

From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026

The Rural New Deal lays out a far-ranging platform to rebuild the nation’s economically embattled small farms, revitalize rural towns, invest in community infrastructures, fund rural health care and schools, and other urgent priorities.

From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025

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