build
Americanverb (used with object)
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builds,
present (3rd person singular)
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built,
past participle, past
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builded,
past participle, past (Archaic)
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building
present participle
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to construct (especially something complex) by assembling and joining parts or materials.
to build a house.
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to establish, increase, or strengthen (often followed byup ).
to build a business;
to build up one's hopes.
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to mold, form, or create.
to build students into skilled professionals.
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a relationship built on trust.
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Games.
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to make (words) from letters.
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to assemble (cards) according to number, suit, etc., as in melding.
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to create (a character in a role-playing game) by choosing a job class and/or a set of attributes, skills, weapons, armor, etc.; spec.
If you want to build a Warlock, choosing Half-Elf for your race will give you more spells and magic resistance.
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verb (used without object)
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builds,
present (3rd person singular)
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built,
past participle, past
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builded,
past participle, past (Archaic)
-
building
present participle
-
to engage in the art, practice, or business of building.
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to form or construct a plan, system of thought, etc. (usually followed by on orupon ).
He built on the philosophies of the past.
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to increase or develop toward a maximum, as of intensity, tempo, or magnitude (often followed byup ).
The drama builds steadily toward a climax.
noun
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builds
plural
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the physical structure, especially of a person; physique; figure.
He had a strong build.
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the manner or form of construction.
The house was of modern build.
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Computers.
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a version of a program after compilation, typically an update to an existing version made before the program is released.
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the process of producing a software build.
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a new version or update of data in a database or on a website.
frequent, incremental builds of data.
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(in a video game or tabletop role-playing game) a set of attributes, skills, weapons, armor, and other items chosen by the player that affect the character’s speed, strength, intelligence, etc., which may make the character more effective in some roles and less effective in others.
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Masonry.
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a vertical joint.
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the vertical dimension of a stone laid on its bed.
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verb phrase
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build in / into to build or incorporate as part of something else: an allowance for travel expenses built into the budget.
to build in bookcases between the windows;
an allowance for travel expenses built into the budget.
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build out to expand, construct, or develop: The team used to manually build out its marketing email list, but now it's automatic.
They decided to build out the road network to connect the two towns.
The team used to manually build out its marketing email list, but now it's automatic.
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build up
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to develop or increase.
to build up a bank account.
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to strengthen.
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to prepare in stages.
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to fill in with houses; develop into an urban area.
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to praise or flatter.
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verb
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to make, construct, or form by joining parts or materials
to build a house
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(intr) to be a builder by profession
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(tr) to order the building of
the government builds most of our hospitals
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to base; found
his theory was not built on facts
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(tr) to establish and develop
it took ten years to build a business
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(tr) to make in a particular way or for a particular purpose
the car was not built for speed
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to increase in intensity
the wind was building
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cards
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to add cards to each other to form (a sequence or set)
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(intr) to add to the layout of cards on the table from one's hand
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noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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misbuildverb
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superbuildverb
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underbuildverb
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outbuildverb (used with object)
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prebuildverb (used with object)
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buildableadjective
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unbuildableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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buildsimple
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buildssimple
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have buildedperfect
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have builtperfect
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has buildedperfect
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has builtperfect
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am buildingprogressive
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are buildingprogressive
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is buildingprogressive
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have been buildingperfect progressive
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has been buildingperfect progressive
Past
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buildedsimple
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builtsimple
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had buildedperfect
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had builtperfect
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was buildingprogressive
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were buildingprogressive
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had been buildingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of build
First recorded before 1150; from Middle English bilden, Old English byldan, derivative of bold, variant of botl “dwelling, house”
Explanation
To build is to construct or make something. When you build a house, you start at the very bottom, with the foundation, and work your way up. You build a birdhouse using scraps of wood, a hammer, and nails, or you can build a career as a poet by writing daily and submitting poems to literary magazines. In both examples, you're constructing something yourself using materials and hard work. Another meaning is to make stronger: "I have to build my endurance if I'm going to finish that marathon." The Old English root of build, byldan, specifically means "build a house," from bold, "house."
Vocabulary lists containing build
"The Giving Tree"
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Make
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The back story: When Covid sent Yale students home in 2020, Chime and his co-founders decided to skip remote learning and build their company full time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Labour has set a target to build 1.5 million homes by 2029.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
A usual weekly build is around 1 million barrels to 5 million barrels.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
Niman said he and Schell also wanted to preserve the land from developers and “wealthy people from the Central Valley,” who were moving to the area to build second homes, golf courses and four-lane highways.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Apparently these women performed mathematical calculations for the engineers at the Lab, who were trying to build state-of-the-art airplanes to keep our nation safe.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
General Atomics, the company that builds the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arresting Gear for the Ford class, said the decision to revert to steam “warrants careful reconsideration.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The label is the latest feature from the streaming platform that builds on transparency between the artist and their listeners.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
As heat builds throughout the week, overnight temperatures will stay relatively high bringing some uncomfortable nights for sleeping.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Rocket Lab said in conjunction with its second-quarter earnings report on Monday that the subsidiary builds on its recent acquisition of laser optical-communications provider Mynaric, which is based in Munich.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
But those are just the basic skills that every gymnast builds on.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
“Here where Nature has builded her finest playground, man has added the material things which provide the comforts that make life worth while,” proclaimed a 1921 advertisement in The Times titled “The Great Southwest.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2022
It is prophesied that the sound of the hammer will not cease for five years in Washington, at the end of which time the house will be builded.
From Time Magazine Archive
And was Jerusalem builded here Among these dark Satanic mills?
From Time Magazine Archive
His published memoirs, Remembered Yesterdays,* is a book that tells a little of a man whose talents symbolized his century and whose beliefs typify the faiths on which this nation was builded.
From Time Magazine Archive
Oh, he was not lying; his own triumph had outrun him; he had builded even better in evil than even he could have hoped.
From "Absalom, Absalom!" by William Faulkner
According to official data, external, it has so far built 392,000 homes in England since coming into power in July 2024.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
At OpenRoad Insurance, which also specializes in classic cars, 40.3% of the insured vehicles were built since 1980, according to Chief Marketing Officer Bryan Ballatore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The food system in the U.S. — largely built around speed and convenience — doesn’t exactly align with home-cooked meals leisurely shared with those you love.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
Spent nuclear fuel is stored in lead and stainless steel casks and bolted into concrete at a specially built pad at Diablo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
It’s not easy, but I’ve built up enough contacts now.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
BALTIMORE—With its boarded-up windows and peeling facade, the vacant building didn’t seem like the kind of house that would prompt a bidding war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
In a previous email to management in 2014, Bradnam expressed concern the hospital's diagnostic team was being "pressured" into installing high-value imaging equipment before the building was complete.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
John Adams became the first president to live in the still-unfinished building when he moved in the following year.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Rather than focusing only on building strength, the researchers say exercise programs should also emphasize balance and coordination while paying attention to how different muscles work together during each step.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
“You’re not suffocating, toiling in a building like city fools up north.”
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
