Build Definition

bĭld

builded, building, builds, built

verb

building, builds, built

To make by putting together materials, parts, etc.; construct; erect.

Webster's New World

To order, plan, or direct the construction of.

Webster's New World

To have a house, etc. built.

Webster's New World

To be in the business of building houses, etc.

Webster's New World

To develop or give form to according to a plan or process; create.

Build a nation; built a successful business out of their corner grocery store.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

noun

builds

The physical makeup of a person or thing, especially one's physique.

An athletic build.

American Heritage

The way a thing is built or shaped; form or figure.

A stocky build.

Webster's New World

Any of various versions of a software product as it is being developed for release to users.

American Heritage

The physique of a human body; constitution or structure of a human body.

Rugby players are of sturdy build.

Wiktionary

(Internet slang) A structure, nominally an abbreviation of building .

I made a build that looked like the Parthenon in that game.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Synonyms:
habit
physique
habitus
constitution
frame
chassis
anatomy
soma
material-body
physical-body
human body
form
figure
bod
shape

Antonyms:

Antonyms:
mind

idiom

build on sand

To provide with an unstable foundation:
Having bought only high-risk stocks, my portfolio was built on sand.

American Heritage

build up

to make more desirable, attractive, healthy, etc.
to build up a product by advertising
to erect many buildings in (an area)

Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Build

Noun

Singular:

build

Plural:

builds

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Build

Origin of Build

From Middle English bilden, from Old English byldan (“to build, construct”), from Proto-Germanic *buldijaną, *budlijaną (“to build”), from Proto-Germanic *budlą, *buþlą, *bōdlą, *bōþlą (“house, dwelling, farm”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhōw- (“to swell, grow, thrive, be, live, dwell”). Related to Old English bold (“abode, house, dwelling-place, mansion, hall, castle, temple”). More at bottle.

From Wiktionary
Middle English bilden from Old English byldan bheuə- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition