Wiktionary

build

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English bilden, from Old English byldan (“to build, construct”), from Proto-Germanic *buþlijaną (“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 bold (“abode, house, dwelling-place, mansion, hall, castle, temple”). More at bottle.

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

build (third-person singular simple present builds, present participle building, simple past and past participle built or (archaic or poetic) builded)

  1. (transitive) To form (something) by combining materials or parts.
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Qveene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for VVilliam Ponsonby, OCLC 932900760, book IV, canto X, stanza 6, page 140:
      It was a bridge ybuilt in goodly wize, / With curious Corbes and pendants grauen faire, [...]
    • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], OCLC 16832619, page 16:
      Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. No omnibus, cab, or conveyance ever built could contain a young man in such a rage. His mother lived at Pembridge Square, which is four good measured miles from Lincoln's Inn.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      A chap named Eleazir Kendrick and I had chummed in together the summer afore and built a fish-weir and shanty at Setuckit Point, down Orham way. For a spell we done pretty well.
  2. (transitive) To develop or give form to (something) according to a plan or process.
    • 2013 June 21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27:
      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 be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.
  3. (transitive) To increase or strengthen (something) by adding gradually to.
    • 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      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 possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.
  4. (transitive) To establish a basis for (something).
  5. (intransitive) To form by combining materials or parts.
  6. (intransitive) To develop in magnitude or extent.
  7. (transitive, computing) To construct (software) by compiling its source code.
  8. (intransitive, computing, of 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?

ConjugationEdit

conjugation of build
infinitive build
present participle building
past participle built
simple progressive perfect perfect progressive
present I build we build I am building we are building I have built we have built I have been building we have been building
you build you build you are building you are building you have built you have built you have been building you have been building
he builds they build he is building they are building he has built they have built he has been building they have been building
past I built we built I was building we were building I had built we had built I had been building we had been building
you built you built you were building you were building you had built you had built you had been building you had been building
he built they built he was building they were building he had built they had built he had been building they had been building
future I will build we will build I will be building we will be building I will have built we will have built I will have been building we will have been building
you will build you will build you will be building you will be building you will have built you will have built you will have been building you will have been building
he will build they will build he will be building they will be building he will have built they will have built he will have been building they will have been building
conditional I would build we would build I would be building we would be building I would have built we would have built I would have been building we would have been building
you would build you would build you would be building you would be building you would have built you would have built you would have been building you would have been building
he would build they would build he would be building they would be building he would have built they would have built he would have been building they would have been building
imperative build

Usage notesEdit

  • The simple past tense and past participle used to be builded; however, that form is now archaic, having been superseded by the form built.
    I have seen Him in the watchfires of a hundred circling camps / They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps. (Julia Ward Howe, Battle Hymn of the Republic - 1861)

SynonymsEdit

AntonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

Terms derived from build (verb)

TranslationsEdit

NounEdit

build (countable and uncountable, plural builds)

  2. (countable, uncountable) The physique of a human body; constitution or structure of a human body.
    Rugby players are of sturdy build.
  3. (computing, countable) 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.
  4. (gaming, slang, countable) A structure, such as a building, statue, pool or forest, or a configuration of a character's items or skills, created by the player.
    I made a build that looked like the Parthenon in that game.
    • 2005, Bill Slavicsek, Richard Baker, Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies (page 279)
      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.

TranslationsEdit

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