structure

[struhk-cher]

noun

1. mode of building, construction, or organization; arrangement of parts, elements, or constituents.

   a pyramidal structure.

   Synonyms: configuration, form, system

2. something built or constructed, as a building, bridge, or dam.

3. a complex system considered from the point of view of the whole rather than of any single part.

   the structure of modern science.

4. anything composed of parts arranged together in some way; an organization.

5. the relationship or organization of the component parts of a work of art or literature.

   the structure of a poem.

6. Biology.,  mode of organization; construction and arrangement of tissues, parts, or organs.

7. Geology.

   1. the attitude of a bed or stratum or of beds or strata of sedimentary rocks, as indicated by the dip and strike.

   2. the coarser composition of a rock, as contrasted with its texture.

8. Chemistry.,  the manner in which atoms in a molecule are joined to each other, especially in organic chemistry where molecular arrangement is represented by a diagram or model.

9. Sociology.,  social structure.

10. the pattern of organization of a language as a whole or of arrangements of linguistic units, as phonemes, morphemes or tagmemes, within larger units.

verb (used with object)

structured, structuring 

1. to give a structure, organization, or arrangement to; construct or build a systematic framework for.

   to structure a curriculum so well that a novice teacher can use it.

structure

/ ˈstrʌktʃə /

noun

1. a complex construction or entity

2. the arrangement and interrelationship of parts in a construction, such as a building

3. the manner of construction or organization

   the structure of society

4. biology morphology; form

5. chem the arrangement of atoms in a molecule of a chemical compound

   the structure of benzene

6. geology the way in which a mineral, rock, rock mass or stratum, etc, is made up of its component parts

7. rare,  the act of constructing

verb

1. (tr) to impart a structure to

Other Word Forms

• destructure verb (used with object)
• interstructure noun
• nonstructure noun
• prestructure verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of structure¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin structūra, equivalent to struct(us) (past participle of struere “to put together”) + -ūra noun suffix; -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of structure¹

C15: from Latin structūra, from struere to build

Synonym Study

See building.

Example Sentences

Indeed, it is quintessential structured finance—the point of which is to help companies try to achieve seemingly irreconcilable financial-reporting goals.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It starts with the gift that I gave myself and that ends up having a lot of influence on the compositional structure of the record.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Your structure may catch on fire,” Smith said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“People are really going to demand that only really sensible projects—that are structured in a way that works for debt markets, with the right cost of capital—actually get built.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Some in the business community will interpret this as possibly heralding another higher-than-inflation rise in the national living wage, which also tends to push up other salaries in a firm's wage structure.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• architecture 
• arrangement 
• complex 
• construction 
• design 
• format 
• formation 
• framework 
• network 
• organization 
• system