build
/bɪld/
build verb: to form (something) by combining materials or parts.
Verb
build (third-person singular simple present builds, present participle building, simple past and past participle built or (archaic or poetic) builded)
- To form (something) by combining materials or parts.
- I built a shed in my backyard.
- It was a bridge ybuilt in goodly wize, / With curious Corbes and pendants grauen faire, [...]1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 6, page 140
- To develop or give form to (something) according to a plan or process.
- He will build an organization equipped for success.
- The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you [...] "share the things you love with the world" and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to...2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2022, page 27
- Synonyms:
- create
- To increase or strengthen (something) by adding gradually to it.
- We need to build an income stream over time.
- Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the...2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845, archived from the original on 02 Jan 2014
- Synonyms:
- build up, enlarge, increase, strengthen
- To establish a basis for (something).
- To form by combining materials or parts.
- To develop in magnitude or extent.
- The tension built between the sparring sisters.
- To construct (software) by compiling its source code.
- To be converted into software by compilation, usually with minimal human intervention.
- This code won’t build any more. Have you made any changes?
Noun
build (countable and uncountable, plural builds)
- The physique of a human or animal body, or other object; constitution or structure.
- Rugby players are of sturdy build.
- According to the prevailing adolescent criteria Roger was not good looking. He had no build and did not give off very assertive, let alone aggressive vibrations.1981 February 7, Nancy Walker, “A Gentle Guy”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 28, page 13
- Any of various versions of a software product as it is being developed for release to users.
- The computer company has introduced a new prototype build to beta testers.
- The process or period of constructing a physical object.
- This new Lego set was a very nice build.
- A structure, such as a building, statue, pool or forest created by the player.
- I made a build that looked like the Parthenon in that game.
- A configuration of a character's items or skills created by the player.
- I made a build centered around attack speed.
- In fact, thousands of D&D players constantly debate the virtues of various character builds (combinations of race, class, feat, and spell choices) and share their efforts with each other in hundreds of message boards and mailing lists.2005, Bill Slavicsek, Richard Baker, Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies, page 279
build meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
build in Hindi
- (transitive) to form by combining materials or parts
- तामीर करना tāmīr karnā, निर्माण करना nirmāṇ karnā
build in Tamil
- கட்டு, எழுப்பு, உருவாக்கு, உடல் அமைப்பு
build in Marathi
- (transitive) to form by combining materials or parts
- बांधणे bāndhṇe
build in Urdu
- (transitive) to form by combining materials or parts
- تَعْمِیر کَرْنا ta'mīr karnā
More languagesFewer languages
- build in Bengali
- নির্মাণ করা nirman kora
- build in Telugu
- నిర్మించు nirmiñcu, కట్టు kaṭṭu
- build in Malayalam
- നിർമ്മിക്കുക niṟmmikkuka
- build in Kannada
- ಕಟ್ಟು kaṭṭu
- build in Punjabi
- ਬਣਾਉਣਾ baṇāuṇā
- build in Gujarati
- બંધાવું bandhāvũ
- build in Odia
- ଗଢ଼ିବା gaṛhibā, ସଜାଡ଼ିବା sajāṛibā
- build in Sanskrit
- निर्मा nirmā
- build in Assamese
- সাজ xaz, বনা bona
- build in Nepali
- निर्माण गर्नु nirmāṇ garnu
- build in Pashto
- ابادول abādawə́l
- build in Arabic
- بَنَى banā
- build in Malay
- membina
- build in Indonesian
- membangun, mendirikan
- build in Thai
- ก่อ gɔ̀ɔ, สร้าง sâang, ก่อสร้าง gɔ̀ɔ-sâang
- build in Vietnamese
- xây, xây dựng
- build in Myanmar
- ဆောက် hcauk, ဆောက်လုပ် hcauklup
Examples of build in a sentence
- But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2022...
- One of the most general underwriting factors is the build of the applicant.1983, J. David Cummins, Barry D. Smith, R. Neil Vance, Jack L. VanDerhei, Risk Classification in Life Insurance (Huebner International...
- Lower levels often mean higher stakes, with characters lacking the inflated health pools and superhuman abilities of endgame builds.2025 February, Ted Litchfield, “Finding a Path”, in PC Gamer (US), number 392, page 10:
Synonyms of build
19 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
3 more antonymsFewer antonyms
Forms of build
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | builds |
| present participle | building |
| past participle | built |
| past | built |
| past participle poetic (archaic) | builded |
| past poetic (archaic) | builded |
| first-person singular past (archaic) | builded |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | buildest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | builded |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | buildedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | buildeth |
| third-person singular past (archaic) | builded |
| plural past (archaic) | builded |
| past subjunctive (archaic) | builded |
| past participle (archaic) | builded |
| Noun | |
| plural | builds |
Origin of build
From Middle English bilden, bulden, bylden, from Old English byldan and bytlan, bytlian (“to build”), from Proto-West Germanic *buþlijan (“to build”), from Proto-Germanic *buþlą, *bōþlą (“house, dwelling, farm”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to become, grow, thrive, be, live, dwell”). Related to Old English botl (“building, house”). More at bottle. False cognate of German bilden.
Words formed from build
- back-build
- bookbuild
- build a better mousetrap
- build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door
- buildability
- buildable
- build a bridge and get over it
- build a case
- build a fire under
- build air castles
- build artifact
- build bridges
- build castles in the air
- build character
- build down
- builddown
- builder
- build in
- build into
- build on
- build on sand
- build out
- build the plane while flying it
- build-to
- build-to-order
- build up
- build-up
- build upon
- built different
- character-building
- checked build
- city-building game
- cobuild
- inbuild
- jerry-build
- misbuild
- newbuild
- new-build
- no-build
- outbuild
- overbuild
- post-build
- prebuild
- pre-build
- pro-build
- rebuild
- Rome wasn't built in a day
- self-build
- town-building game
- unbuild
- underbuild
- upbuild
- build plate
- sleeper build
Phrases with build
Words that rhyme with build
Questions about build
- What does build mean?
- Build means to form (something) by combining materials or parts.
- What is build in Hindi?
- Build in Hindi is तामीर करना (tāmīr karnā), निर्माण करना (nirmāṇ karnā). See Build meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use build in a sentence?
- But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.
- What part of speech is build?
- Build can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce build?
- Build is pronounced /bɪld/.
- What is the past tense of build?
- The past tense of build is built.
Words near build in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: build (page history and authors); build (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); కట్టు (Telugu) (page history and authors); ಕಟ್ಟು (Kannada) (page history and authors); ਬਣਾਉਣਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); બંધાવું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); ଗଢ଼ିବା (Odia) (page history and authors); निर्मा (Sanskrit) (page history and authors); ابادول (Pashto) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-to build.ogg, en-us-build.ogg.
Cite this entry: “build.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/build. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.