Word.ws English Dictionary

build on sand

build on sand verb: to put something in an unstable position by failing to give it a secure foundation.

Verb

build on sand (third-person singular simple present builds on sand, present participle building on sand, simple past and past participle built on sand)

  1. (idiomatic) To put something in an unstable position by failing to give it a secure foundation.
    • Loveless marriages often end in divorce because they are built on sand.

Forms of build on sand

third-person singular presentbuilds on sand
present participlebuilding on sand
past participlebuilt on sand
pastbuilt on sand

Origin of build on sand

From the Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Builders in Matthew 7:24–27.

Questions about build on sand

What does build on sand mean?
Build on sand means to put something in an unstable position by failing to give it a secure foundation.
What part of speech is build on sand?
Build on sand is a verb.
What is the past tense of build on sand?
The past tense of build on sand is built on sand.

Words near build on sand in the dictionary

  1. build character
  2. build down
  3. build in
  4. build into
  5. build on
  6. build on sand
  7. build out
  8. build plate
  9. build plates
  10. build the plane while flying it
  11. build up

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: build on sand (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-au-build on sand.ogg.

Cite this entry: “build on sand.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/build_on_sand. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.