mega-structure

Noun

megastructure (plural megastructures)

1. A very large structure.
   • I never cared for zipways as a way to get around megastructures like this. I always thought that there was a reason God invented taxis.2006, K. A. Bedford, Hydrogen Steel
   1. A specific type of structure characterized by very large buildings with strictly artificial forms.
      • A fusion of architecture and city planning, megastructures were supposed to bring together mixed uses -- like housing, shopping, transportation and public space -- within a single building.1993 April 26, Herbert Muschamp, “Pritzker Prize for Japanese Architect”, in The New York Times, page C18
   2. A hypothetical structure not possible with current technology, e.g., a Dyson sphere.
      • For lack of anything intelligent to do (it's a slow weekend), I've been compiling a list of stories about "megastructures" -- ringworlds, Dyson spheres, and so forth.1993 January 17, Ross Smith, “Enormous Big Things”, in rec.arts.sf.written (Usenet), message-ID <alien.02jk@acheron.amigans.gen.nz>
2. (uncountable) The large-scale structure of a material, as contrasted to the fine-scale structure.
   • That local concentration of the sulphur, phosphorous and carbon is also found in many other positions has been proved by the most invaluable method of examining the macrostructure or megastructure of complete sections, of ingots and forged material, after the surfaces of the steel have been...1907 August, John Edward Stead, “Segregation in Steel”, in Technical Literature, volume 2, number 2, page 86

   Synonyms:

   macrostructure

   Antonyms:

   microstructure