structural

American  

[struhk-cher-uhl] / ˈstrʌk tʃər əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to structure; relating or essential to a structure.

2. resulting from or relating to political or economic structure: structural inequalities;

   structural reforms to the social safety net;

   structural inequalities;

   structural racism.

3. Biology. relating to organic structure; morphological.

4. Geology. of or relating to geological structure, as of rock or strata.

5. Chemistry. relating to or showing the arrangement or mode of attachment of the atoms that constitute a molecule of a substance.

6. of, relating to, or based on the assumption that the elements of a field of study are naturally arranged in a systematic structure.

   structural grammar.

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noun

1. Building Trades.

   1. a part of a structure that carries a load.

   2. the structural member used for such a part.

structural British  

/ ˈstrʌktʃərəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or having structure or a structure

2. of, relating to, or forming part of the structure of a building

3. of or relating to the structure and deformation of rocks and other features of the earth's crust

4. of or relating to the structure of organisms; morphological

5. chem of, concerned with, caused by, or involving the arrangement of atoms in molecules

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Other Word Forms

• nonstructural adjective
• nonstructurally adverb
• structurally adverb
• unstructural adjective
• unstructurally adverb

Etymology

Origin of structural

First recorded in 1825–35; structure + -al ¹

Explanation

When you're talking about something structural you're talking about the way it's built. The simple look of a building can mask its complex structural design. A skeleton is the structural framework of a body. While we all look different on the outside, for the most part, we all share the same structural components — we're built the same way. Some buildings, such as the Eiffel Tower, reveal their structural design completely. They are nothing but structure. Other buildings work hard to hide their structural qualities. You can discuss the structural nature of ideas too, as in "structural economics" or even human relationships.

Example Sentences

They were named for their structural resemblance to perovskites, a broader class of oxide materials widely studied in materials science.

From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026

Private equity investments suffer from inherent structural problems including limited disclosure, non-standardized return calculations that lack transparency, and management fees substantially higher than conventional investment funds.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Northumberland County Council said it was "currently carrying out a mixture of structural patching works and safety related repairs to ensure the road is brought back into an acceptable and safe condition".

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

It would further expose a structural weakness in Batson itself.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026

He climbed the slick rungs screwed into the gnarled trunk and inspected Chase’s work as if he were a structural engineer, which he wasn’t.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

Related Words

• anatomical
• architectural
• basic
• constitutional
• skeletal