| 1. | the part of a building or construction entirely above its foundation or basement. |
| 2. | any structure built on something else. |
| 3. | the overlying framework or features of an organization, institution, or system, built or superimposed on a more fundamental base. |
| 4. | Nautical. any construction built above the main deck of a vessel as an upward continuation of the sides. Compare deckhouse. |
| 5. | the part of a bridge that rests on the piers and abutments. |
| 6. | anything based on or rising from some foundation or basis: a complex ideological superstructure based on two hypotheses. |
superstructure su·per·struc·ture (s&oomacr;'pər-strŭk'chər)
n.
A structure above the surface.