build⋅ing
[bil-ding] 
| 1. | a relatively permanent enclosed construction over a plot of land, having a roof and usually windows and often more than one level, used for any of a wide variety of activities, as living, entertaining, or manufacturing. |
| 2. | anything built or constructed. |
| 3. | the act, business, or practice of constructing houses, office buildings, etc. |
Related forms:
1. Building, edifice, structure refer to something built. Building and structure may apply to either a finished or an unfinished product of construction, and carry no implications as to size or condition. Edifice is a more formal word and narrower in application, referring to a completed structure, and usually a large and imposing one. Building generally connotes a useful purpose (houses, schools, business offices, etc.); structure suggests the planning and constructive process.
build
[bild] verb, built or (Archaic
) build⋅ed; build⋅ing; noun | 1. | to construct (esp. something complex) by assembling and joining parts or materials: to build a house. |
| 2. | to establish, increase, or strengthen (often fol. by up): to build a business; to build up one's hopes. |
| 3. | to mold, form, or create: to build boys into men. |
| 4. | to base; found: a relationship built on trust. |
| 5. | Games.
|
| 6. | to engage in the art, practice, or business of building. |
| 7. | to form or construct a plan, system of thought, etc. (usually fol. by on or upon): He built on the philosophies of the past. |
| 8. | to increase or develop toward a maximum, as of intensity, tempo, or magnitude (often fol. by up): The drama builds steadily toward a climax. |
| 9. | the physical structure, esp. of a person; physique; figure: He had a strong build. |
| 10. | the manner or form of construction: The house was of modern build. |
| 11. | Masonry.
|
| 12. | build in or into, to build or incorporate as part of something else: to build in bookcases between the windows; an allowance for travel expenses built into the budget. |
| 13. | build up,
|
bef. 1150; ME bilden, OE byldan, deriv. of bold, var. of botl dwelling, house
Related forms:
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| build (bĭld) v. built (bĭlt), build·ing, builds v. tr.
build in/intoTo construct or include as an integral part of: a wall with shelving that was built in; build stability into the economy. build on/uponTo use as a basis or foundation: We must build on our recent success. build up
Idiom(s): build on sandTo provide with an unstable foundation: Having bought only high-risk stocks, my portfolio was built on sand. [Middle English bilden, from Old English byldan; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots.] |
| build·ing (bĭl'dĭng) n.
|
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Building
Build"ing\, n. 1. The act of constructing, erecting, or establishing. Hence it is that the building of our Sion rises no faster. --Bp. Hall. 2. The art of constructing edifices, or the practice of civil architecture. The execution of works of architecture necessarily includes building; but building is frequently employed when the result is not architectural. --Hosking. 3. That which is built; a fabric or edifice constructed, as a house, a church, etc. Thy sumptuous buildings and thy wife's attire Have cost a mass of public treasury. --Shak.Cite This Source
Building
among the Jews was suited to the climate and conditions of the country. They probably adopted the kind of architecture for their dwellings which they found already existing when they entered Canaan (Deut. 6:10; Num. 13:19). Phoenician artists (2 Sam. 5:11; 1 Kings 5:6, 18) assisted at the erection of the royal palace and the temple at Jerusalem. Foreigners also assisted at the restoration of the temple after the Exile (Ezra 3:7). In Gen. 11:3, 9, we have the first recorded instance of the erection of buildings. The cities of the plain of Shinar were founded by the descendants of Shem (10:11, 12, 22). The Israelites were by occupation shepherds and dwellers in tents (Gen. 47:3); but from the time of their entering Canaan they became dwellers in towns, and in houses built of the native limestone of Palestine. Much building was carried on in Solomon's time. Besides the buildings he completed at Jerusalem, he also built Baalath and Tadmor (1 Kings 9:15, 24). Many of the kings of Israel and Judah were engaged in erecting various buildings. Herod and his sons and successors restored the temple, and built fortifications and other structures of great magnificence in Jerusalem (Luke 21:5). The instruments used in building are mentioned as the plumb-line (Amos 7:7), the measuring-reed (Ezek. 40:3), and the saw (1 Kings 7:9). Believers are "God's building" (1 Cor. 3:9); and heaven is called "a building of God" (2 Cor. 5:1). Christ is the only foundation of his church (1 Cor. 3:10-12), of which he also is the builder (Matt. 16:18).
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