construction — English Dictionary

Noun

1. The process of constructing.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   Construction is underway on the new bridge.

   89.2 million tons of RAP are used annually in new asphalt pavement construction in the United States.

2. Anything that has been constructed.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   The engineer marvelled at his construction.

3. The trade of building structures.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   He had worked in construction all his life.

4. A building, model or some other structure.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   The office was a construction of steel and glass.

5. A (usually non-representational) structure, such as a collage etc.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   "Construction in string and clockwork" took first prize.

6. The manner in which something is built.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   A thing of simple construction.

   More examples (1)

   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. A group of words arranged to form a meaningful phrase.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

8. The act or result of construing the meaning of something.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   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.

   Usage

   • Countable
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   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. A geometric figure of arcs and line segments that is drawable with a straightedge and compass.

    Usage

    • Countable
    • Uncountable

Noun

1. the act of constructing something

   Synonyms

   building

   Broader terms

   creating from raw materials

   Examples

   during the construction we had to take a detour

   his hobby was the building of boats

2. a group of words that form a constituent of a sentence and are considered as a single unit

   Synonyms

   grammatical constructionexpression

   Antonyms

   misconstruction

   Broader terms

   constituentgrammatical constituent

   Examples

   I concluded from his awkward constructions that he was a foreigner

3. the creation of a construct; the process of combining ideas into a congruous object of thought

   Synonyms

   mental synthesis

   Broader terms

   thinkingthoughtthought processcerebrationintellectionmentation

4. a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts

   Synonyms

   structure

   Broader terms

   artifactartefact

   Examples

   the structure consisted of a series of arches

   she wore her hair in an amazing construction of whirls and ribbons

5. drawing a figure satisfying certain conditions as part of solving a problem or proving a theorem

   Broader terms

   mathematical processmathematical operationoperation

   Examples

   the assignment was to make a construction that could be used in proving the Pythagorean theorem

6. an interpretation of a text or action

   Synonyms

   twist

   Broader terms

   interpretation

   Examples

   they put an unsympathetic construction on his conduct

7. the commercial activity involved in repairing old structures or constructing new ones

   Synonyms

   building

   Broader terms

   commercial enterprisebusiness enterprisebusiness

   Examples

   their main business is home construction

   workers in the building trades