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

Haines has also helped to secure funds for housebuilding, railway improvements and health infrastructure in her region, which she argues has long been sidelined by policies favouring cities.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

"All the infrastructure is there, all the wells are drilled, it's ready to turn on," said Matt Cooper, senior vice president at energy consultancy Rystad Energy.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

Many civilians use the relatively cheap satellite service to stay online where the country’s broadband infrastructure is damaged.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Jonas forecasts 2027 capital expenditures, or spending on physical infrastructure, at roughly $278 billion, 87% of which would be allocated to AI-related plans.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 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

"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

The joint statement outlines the terms of "de-escalation", which includes ceasing "attacks on civilians, civilian objects and infrastructures, and military objectives of either side".

From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025

Sinkholes on roadways pose obvious risks, but sinkholes in urban and suburban areas threaten telecommunications and electrical infrastructures, as well as water mains and gas pipelines.

From Slate ● Oct. 17, 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

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Related Words

• base
• framework

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