structure

American  

[struhk-cher] / ˈstrʌk tʃər /

noun

• structures
  plural

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)

• structures,
  present (3rd person singular)
• structured,
  past participle,  past
• structuring
  present participle

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 British  

/ 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

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verb

1. (tr) to impart a structure to

Synonym Usage

See building.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• structures
  plural

Participles

• structuring
  present
• structured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• structure
  simple
• structures
  simple
• have structured
  perfect
• has structured
  perfect
• am structuring
  progressive
• are structuring
  progressive
• is structuring
  progressive
• have been structuring
  perfect progressive
• has been structuring
  perfect progressive

Past

• structured
  simple
• had structured
  perfect
• was structuring
  progressive
• were structuring
  progressive
• had been structuring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will structure
  simple
• will have structured
  perfect
• will be structuring
  progressive
• will have been structuring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of structure

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; see -ure

Explanation

A structure is something of many parts that is put together. A structure can be a skyscraper, an outhouse, your body, or a sentence. Structure is from the Latin word structura which means "a fitting together, building." Although it's certainly used to describe buildings, it can do more than that. A family's structure includes the relationship of its members, your body structure can refer to how your muscles and bones fit together. Sentence structure is how a sentence is put together, including subjects, verbs, and all that stuff English teachers love to yap about. Structure is usually a noun, but it can also be a verb meaning to impose order, like if you "structure an argument to convince your parents to let you stay out later."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

structure structures structured structuring

Ellison is expected to unveil the combined company’s organizational structure in the coming days, including leadership teams for the movie and television studios, according to people familiar with the matter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

Because youth movements are unpredictable and shapeless, often with no clear structure to negotiate with.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

The new structure, as Supervisor Lindsey Horvath stated at a February board meeting, would impact 14 units representing about 16,500 employees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The loan structure was uncommon; most lenders offer ARMs with an initial five- or seven-year fixed period.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

Radiation might knock out a piece of the cell’s DNA, change the structure of the cell wall, or alter the thickness of the fluid in the cell.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

“By that time, most of the structures in west Altadena had already been impacted by the fire.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

One strategy that economists expect to pick up substantially as rates rise and home prices remain high: creative mortgage structures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Researchers using different extraction techniques produced fractions with different structures and different levels of utilization by gut microbes.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

That could involve redesigning tax structures to "make it a bit more attractive to hold on to workers than automating them," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

The peculiar feature of the mutants, he discovered, was that the essential plan of macroscopic structures was often maintained—only the segment switched its position or identity in the body of the fly.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Participants decided whether to join a structured exercise and diet-induced weight-loss program or remain in a non-exercise group.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026

Beutner had structured Proposition 28 precisely to prevent this supplanting of funds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Professional kitchens demand long hours and enormous physical and emotional energy, and the industry has historically been structured around the expectation that someone else is handling the rest of your life.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

The partnership shows the value of Shopify’s structured product data, merchant connectivity, checkout and the underlying infrastructure required to complete an order, they say.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Though she still has a dissertation to write, still has an adviser to monitor her progress, she feels unmoored already, somehow beyond the world that has defined and structured and limited her for so long.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Companies are structuring chip and electricity purchases as future leases rather than owned assets, so the liabilities don’t show up on the balance sheet.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

I’d love to hear any practical suggestions for structuring this so that it is easy for the restaurant, seamless for the staff and customers, and doesn’t create unnecessary headaches for anyone.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

Chesney also talked about the structuring of his practices, specifically with having some in the morning and afternoon to expose his players to the heat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

“They’re the ones structuring the deals to make sure that they work,” Cadenazzi said at a Hudson Institute event in February.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

But all of this intricate structuring was hidden.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

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