Construction

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kÉ™nˈstrÊŒkʃən/
• Rhymes: -ÊŒkʃən

Origin

From Old French construction, from Latin cōnstructiō, from cōnstruere, present active infinitive of cōnstruō.

Full definition of construction

Noun

1. The process of constructing.Construction is underway on the new bridge.
2. Anything that has been constructed.The engineer marvelled at his construction.
3. The trade of building structuresHe had worked in construction all his life.
4. A building, model or some other structureThe office was a construction of steel and glass
5. (arts) A (usually non-representational) structure, such as a collage etc."Construction in string and clockwork" took first prize
6. The manner in which something is built.A thing of simple construction
• 1913, w, Lord Stranleigh Abroad Chapter 4, Nothing could be more business-like than the construction of the stout dams, and nothing more gently rural than the limpid lakes, with the grand old forest trees marshalled round their margins like a veteran army that had marched down to drink, only to be stricken motionless at the water’s edge.
7. (grammar) A group of words arranged to form a meaningful phrase.
8. The act or result of construing the meaning of something.American conservatives tend to favor strict construction of the Constitution.
9. The meaning or interpretation of a text, action etc.; the way something is viewed by an observer or onlooker.
• 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial 2007, p. 95:He had considered sending Lucille away to stay with relations. But then people might have put the worst construction on it – might believe she had done something she shouldn't have.
10. (geometry) A geometric figure of arcs and line segments that is drawable with a straightedge and compass.

Synonyms

• building

Antonyms

• destruction

Derived terms

Related terms

• construct
• constructionless
• constructive