build

American  

[bild] / bɪld /

verb (used with object)

• builds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• built,
  past participle,  past
• builded,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• building
  present participle

1. to construct (especially something complex) by assembling and joining parts or materials.

   to build a house.

2. to establish, increase, or strengthen (often followed byup ).

   to build a business;

   to build up one's hopes.

3. to mold, form, or create.

   to build students into skilled professionals.

4. to base; found.

   a relationship built on trust.

5. Games.

   1. to make (words) from letters.

   2. to assemble (cards) according to number, suit, etc., as in melding.

   3. 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)

• builds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• built,
  past participle,  past
• builded,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• building
  present participle

1. to engage in the art, practice, or business of building.

2. to form or construct a plan, system of thought, etc. (usually followed by on orupon ).

   He built on the philosophies of the past.

3. to increase or develop toward a maximum, as of intensity, tempo, or magnitude (often followed byup ).

   The drama builds steadily toward a climax.

noun

• builds
  plural

1. the physical structure, especially of a person; physique; figure.

   He had a strong build.

2. the manner or form of construction.

   The house was of modern build.

3. Computers.

   1. a version of a program after compilation, typically an update to an existing version made before the program is released.

   2. the process of producing a software build.

   3. a new version or update of data in a database or on a website.

      frequent, incremental builds of data.

4. (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.

5. Masonry.

   1. a vertical joint.

   2. the vertical dimension of a stone laid on its bed.

verb phrase

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. build up

   1. to develop or increase.

      to build up a bank account.

   2. to strengthen.

   3. to prepare in stages.

   4. to fill in with houses; develop into an urban area.

   5. to praise or flatter.

build British  

/ bɪld /

verb

1. to make, construct, or form by joining parts or materials

   to build a house

2. (intr) to be a builder by profession

3. (tr) to order the building of

   the government builds most of our hospitals

4. to base; found

   his theory was not built on facts

5. (tr) to establish and develop

   it took ten years to build a business

6. (tr) to make in a particular way or for a particular purpose

   the car was not built for speed

7. to increase in intensity

   the wind was building

8. cards

   1. to add cards to each other to form (a sequence or set)

   2. (intr) to add to the layout of cards on the table from one's hand

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noun

1. physical form, figure, or proportions

   a man with an athletic build

build Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing build

• built
• light (build) a fire under

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misbuild
  verb
• superbuild
  verb
• underbuild
  verb
• outbuild
  verb (used with object)
• prebuild
  verb (used with object)
• buildable
  adjective
• unbuildable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• builds
  plural

Participles

• building
  present
• builded
  past
• built
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• build
  simple
• builds
  simple
• have builded
  perfect
• have built
  perfect
• has builded
  perfect
• has built
  perfect
• am building
  progressive
• are building
  progressive
• is building
  progressive
• have been building
  perfect progressive
• has been building
  perfect progressive

Past

• builded
  simple
• built
  simple
• had builded
  perfect
• had built
  perfect
• was building
  progressive
• were building
  progressive
• had been building
  perfect progressive

Future

• will build
  simple
• will have builded
  perfect
• will have built
  perfect
• will be building
  progressive
• will have been building
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of build

First recorded before 1150; from Middle English bilden, Old English byldan, derivative of bold, variant of botl “dwelling, house”

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

build builds builded built building

“A grocer or retailer running on thin margins cannot build all of that alone, and with AI, the playing field risks being tilted even further away from local commerce.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

He leads an institute behind many scientific feats: It gave birth to JPL 90 years ago, created the earthquake Richter scale and helped build the first detectors to observe cosmic gravitational waves.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Now Washington is turning to one of its closest friends in Asia to help build more of them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

"The only negative I would say... on new builds, the housing market isn't just all about new builds, it's about existing property... because not everybody wants to have a new build property," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

The rest was filled with two dirt bikes, an all-terrain quad, and enough tools and supplies to build a three-story home.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

"The only negative I would say... on new builds, the housing market isn't just all about new builds, it's about existing property... because not everybody wants to have a new build property," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

The discovery comes from a collaboration between TU Wien and the University of California San Diego and builds on research that helped establish the field of attosecond physics.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

SK Hynix executives on a conference call said that even as it builds more fabs, the rising share of high-performance products like HBM chips demands more resources.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026

The move builds on earlier plans detailed by Leiters that include divesting noncore assets, investing in new gas-powered and hybrid models, focusing on profits over sales volume and reducing the number of model variants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

And so he builds, because what is building, and rebuilding and rebuilding again, but an act of faith?

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

“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

Percy Haughton's widow watched the Columbia team that he had builded sink to defeat before Cornell at Ithaca.

From Time Magazine Archive

Born luckily to place and power, Premier Jon Bratiano has held and builded upon both.

From Time Magazine Archive

And was Jerusalem builded here Among these dark Satanic mills?

From Time Magazine Archive

When I awoke this morning he hath builded me a Fire in the Grate.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

It also built a plant in Mesa, Ariz., in 2024, where it is assembling a second Delta class ship.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Of the roughly 4.6 million homes built from 2015 through 2024 in new subdivisions they looked at, only about 750,000, or 16%, were starter homes, they write.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

"The trust and emotional bond it has built up over a long time will also suffer."

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Companies are spending gobs of money on chips, computers, power turbines and electrical equipment to house in newly built data centers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

I have built campfires in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and hunted wild turkey in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

“They want to trade, hedge and access data whenever markets are moving, and we’re building our networks to meet them there,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

This was a time when the internet was building toward something we all thought was going to be better, more creative, more hopeful.

From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2026

The building was originally constructed in 1967 before being transformed into an upscale residential destination.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced the agreement Tuesday as “a historic opportunity for the city of Los Angeles to be completely in control of building a system that can end street homelessness.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

Hell, I knew, was a hot place, so heaven must be like this cold, dank, holy building, where smoke rose like incense from the footwarmers of the paying customers.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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Related Words

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