public works

plural noun

1. structures, as roads, dams, or post offices, paid for by government funds for public use.

public works

plural noun

1. engineering projects and other constructions, financed and undertaken by a government for the community

public works

1. Public facilities and improvements financed by the government for the public good. Public works include hospitals, bridges, highways, and dams. These projects may be funded by local, state, or federal appropriations. (See also pork-barrel legislation.)

Word History and Origins

Origin of public works¹

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

As new territories were brought into the empire by alliance or conquest, they were added to the network, facilitating communication, public works and military movements, and providing a potent reminder of Inca dominion.

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This has failed every time it’s been tried when Tokyo threw borrowed cash at industrial-policy subsidies or public works—and Ms. Takaichi promises both.

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Unprecedented public works and economic problems were left in its wake.

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At the Board of Supervisors’ Aug. 12 meeting, Pestrella, the county public works director, said he expects the tower would survive even the most powerful earthquake.

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Employees of the public works department, whose engineers have been accused of aiding in the graft, have been allowed to stop wearing their uniforms following reports that they were being heckled and harassed in public.

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