buildingbuild‧ing /ˈbɪldɪŋ/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 
The offices are on the top two floors of the building. a farmhouse and other farm buildings2[uncountable] the process or business of building things: There is a limited supply of land for building. stone, timber, and other building materialsbuilding of The enquiry recommended the building of a tunnel.COLLOCATIONSverbsput up a building (also erect a building formal)· They keep pulling down the old buildings and putting up new ones.pull down/knock down/tear down a building· All the medieval buildings were torn down.demolish/destroy a building (=pull it down)· Permission is needed to demolish listed buildings.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + buildinga tall building· The park was surrounded by tall buildings.a high-rise building (=very tall with many floors)· a New York high-rise buildinga low building· That low building is a stable block.an office/school/hospital etc building· Our office building is just ten minutes’ walk from where I live.a public building· The town has a number of interesting public buildings, including the old town hall.a beautiful building (also a fine/handsome building British English)· The old station was a fine building, but has sadly been demolished.an impressive/imposing building· the impressive buildings around the town’s central squarea brick/stone/wooden building· The farmhouse is a long stone building about a century old.a two-storey/three-storey etc building (=with two, three etc floors)· Our villa was a delightful two-storey building.a single-storey/one-storey building (=with only one floor)a historic building (=an old building of historical interest)· Most of the historic buildings are from the 18th century.a listed building British English (=a historic building that is protected by a government order)· The school is actually a listed building.a derelict building (=empty and in very bad condition)· Near the canal there are a number of derelict buildings.a dilapidated building (=in bad condition)· He rented an apartment at the top of a dilapidated building in Paris.a ramshackle building (also a tumbledown building British English) (=old and almost falling down)· The farm was surrounded by tumbledown buildings.THESAURUSbuilding a structure such as a house, church, or factory, that has a roof and walls: · The college needs money to pay for new buildings.property formal a building or piece of land, or both together – used especially when talking about buying and selling buildings or land: · The next property they looked at was too small.· The company received permission to build six residential properties on the land.premises formal the buildings and land that a shop, restaurant, company etc uses: · You are not allowed to drink alcohol on the premises.· The bread is baked on the premises.complex a group of buildings, or a large building with many parts, used for a particular purpose: · The town has one of the best leisure complexes in the country.· a luxury apartment complexdevelopment a group of new buildings that have all been planned and built together on the same piece of land: · a new housing development· a huge industrial developmentblock especially British English a large tall building that contains apartments or offices, or is part of a school, university, or hospital: · an office block· a block of flats· a tower block (=a very tall building - often used disapprovingly)· My next lecture is in the science block.facility especially American English a place or building used for a particular activity or industry: · a research facility on campusedifice formal a large building, especially one that is tall and impressive – a very formal use: · Their head office was an imposing edifice.structure formal something that has been made to stand upright – used especially when talking about buildings: · The stone arch is one of the town’s oldest existing structures.· an immense barn-like structure· Mogul calls this building, designed by Donald and John Parkinson in 1928, ‘the most important structure in Los Angeles of the 20th century.’
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- an apartment building
- Brewer Hall is a red-brick building with white trim.
- It was the invention of pre-stressed concrete that really transformed building techniques.
- The new law will increase building costs.
- The Sears Tower is one of the tallest buildings in the world.
- The whole building shook when a train went past.
- There's a plan to convert the farm buildings into private apartments.
- There has been an increase in new-home building in recent months.
- They made a documentary on the building of the State Capitol.
- Thousands of workers in the building industry will lose their jobs as a result of cutbacks.
- Chemicals may be released from materials in buildings or furnishings.
- Her goal proved to be a tall, thin building, leaning like an amiable drunk, supported by its neighbours.
- More than 600 people were injured and 300 surrounding buildings were damaged by the force of the explosion.
- Under the clear astrodome she walked to the admin building, the sensors at Kandinskaya's door showing red.
THESAURUS
a structure such as a house, church, or factory, that has a roof and walls: · The college needs money to pay for new buildings.
formal a building or piece of land, or both together – used especially when talking about buying and selling buildings or land: · The next property they looked at was too small.· The company received permission to build six residential properties on the land.
formal the buildings and land that a shop, restaurant, company etc uses: · You are not allowed to drink alcohol on the premises.· The bread is baked on the premises.
a group of buildings, or a large building with many parts, used for a particular purpose: · The town has one of the best leisure complexes in the country.· a luxury apartment complex
a group of new buildings that have all been planned and built together on the same piece of land: · a new housing development· a huge industrial development
especially British English a large tall building that contains apartments or offices, or is part of a school, university, or hospital: · an office block· a block of flats· a tower block (=a very tall building - often used disapprovingly)· My next lecture is in the science block.
especially American English a place or building used for a particular activity or industry: · a research facility on campus
formal a large building, especially one that is tall and impressive – a very formal use: · Their head office was an imposing edifice.
formal something that has been made to stand upright – used especially when talking about buildings: · The stone arch is one of the town’s oldest existing structures.· an immense barn-like structure· Mogul calls this building, designed by Donald and John Parkinson in 1928, ‘the most important structure in Los Angeles of the 20th century.’
Longman Language Activatorto build something to make a house, road, wall, bridge etc using bricks, stone, wood or other materials: · Are they going to build on this land?· His ambition is to build his own house.· The cost of building the new football stadium was over $40 million.· The road was originally built by the Romans.be built of concrete/stone/wood etc: · Only about 3% of houses in the US are built of concrete.
to build a wall, fence, or a tall building: put up something: · They're planning to tear down these apartments and put up an office building.put something up: · Isobel and Peter have put a stone wall up along the side of the garden.
to build a large public building, a bridge, road etc: · The city council has plans for constructing two new schools and a hospital.· This elegant two-storey stone building was constructed in 1889.· New freeway ramps are being constructed in San Bruno.
especially spoken if buildings are going up in a place, they are being built: · It seems like new beachfront hotels are going up every week.· Whenever a new mall goes up, I ask myself how many of these things we need.
formal to build a public building or structure: · The first lighthouse was erected on the island in 1912.· The group hopes to erect a statue of Fleming next year.
the process of building houses, roads etc the process or method of building large public buildings, bridges, roads etc: · The firm deals mainly in road construction.construction on: · Construction on the tunnel will begin in April.construction of: · Construction of the dam is nearly complete.under construction: · About 3,000 housing units are under construction in the city.construction industry: · The construction industry has been severely affected by the recession.
the process or business of building houses: · There has been an increase in new-home building in recent months.· It was the invention of pre-stressed concrete that really transformed building techniques.building industry: · Thousands of workers in the building industry will lose their jobs as a result of cutbacks.
the design of buildings the way in which buildings are designed, or the work of designing buildings: · We spent most of our time in Barcelona just looking at the architecture.· City Hall is a fine example of Gothic architecture.· She's studying architecture at college.
someone whose job is to design buildings: · St Paul's Cathedral was designed by the famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren.
a building or group of buildings · Brewer Hall is a red-brick building with white trim.· The whole building shook when a train went past.· There's a plan to convert the farm buildings into private apartments.
a large building divided into smaller parts: block of: · The house at Number 14 was replaced by a block of flats.office/apartment block: · There's another new office block going up behind the station.· His studios are on the tenth floor of an office block overlooking the river.high-rise/tower block (=very tall block) British: · To the east is a landscape of concrete tower blocks.
a group of new buildings that have all been planned and built together on the same piece of land: · The new development at the edge of town is aimed at first-time buyers.· The former cropland has been turned into housing developments and shopping malls.
a large building or a part of a building - used especially to say what it is made of or how strong it is: · The station building was a high wooden structure with a curved roof.· The stone arch is one of the town's oldest existing structures.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRYverbs the use of confidence-building exercises to assist adults to return to the labour market She’s keen to do something in the fashion line. a supply of building materials The country has been building up its stock of weapons.
(also erect a building formal)· They keep pulling down the old buildings and putting up new ones.
· All the medieval buildings were torn down.
(=pull it down)· Permission is needed to demolish listed buildings.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + building· The park was surrounded by tall buildings.
(=very tall with many floors)· a New York high-rise building
· That low building is a stable block.
· Our office building is just ten minutes’ walk from where I live.
· The town has a number of interesting public buildings, including the old town hall.
(also a fine/handsome building British English)· The old station was a fine building, but has sadly been demolished.
· the impressive buildings around the town’s central square
· The farmhouse is a long stone building about a century old.
(=with two, three etc floors)· Our villa was a delightful two-storey building.
(=with only one floor)
(=an old building of historical interest)· Most of the historic buildings are from the 18th century.
British English (=a historic building that is protected by a government order)· The school is actually a listed building.
(=empty and in very bad condition)· Near the canal there are a number of derelict buildings.
(=in bad condition)· He rented an apartment at the top of a dilapidated building in Paris.
(also a tumbledown building British English) (=old and almost falling down)· The farm was surrounded by tumbledown buildings.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES (also an apartment block British English, apartment house American English)· a five-storey apartment block· Our apartment building is the last block on the right, opposite the bank.
(=a sudden increase in building work)· There’s been a recent construction boom in the Gulf.
(=making it develop)· Training for a big match is all about confidence building.
the use of confidence-building exercises to assist adults to return to the labour market· The band was soon offered a recording contract with Columbia Records.
· The farmhouse is separated by hedges from other farm buildings.
· Fred worked for an electronics firm.
British English (=land where houses can be built)· The shortage of housing land is a problem in the south-east.
She’s keen to do something in the fashion line. a supply of building materials· We will continue with our hospital building programme.
(=relating to the structure of buildings)· The Building Regulations no longer specify minimum ceiling heights.
· He has worked on various building sites.
The country has been building up its stock of weapons. (=built in the style used in the Tudor period)
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· In particular, it brought the demolition of most historic buildings in conservation areas under control.· Holliday said he rushed outdoors to check out downtown's fragile, historic buildings after he caught his breath.· But other hostels were successfully established in areas of outstanding beauty or interest, often in historic, unusual buildings.· Several historic buildings around this area at the top of the High Street have been restored in recent years as student residences.· One of these was for the creation of a new statutory historic buildings committee.· And the setting - historic farm buildings amongst breathtaking countryside.· Its only scourge - heavy lorries - rumbling through its streets, polluting the environment and damaging historic buildings.
· Today there is a large new building on the other side of the farm house and clipping and storage is conducted there.· One mile to the south of the village lies Sand Hall, a large brick building erected in 1774.· The excavation of a village may reveal a number of small buildings clustered around one much larger building.· There was a good bookshop, and a large ruined building, gaunt and flaking, the Hibernian Hall.· The interpretation of the large buildings as temples makes the system more complex.· In large buildings, communication with other staff if often not easy but discretion is preferred to valour!· At the end, in sunlight, was a large building with high windows and a big main door.· The King had decided I would stay in the largest available building, just outside the city gates.
· For example, in planning redevelopment, local authorities will take into account listed buildings in the area.· The tower is now a listed building.· Any work which materially affects the character of a listed building, inside or out, requires listed building consent.· Shortly after buying it, Denega was refused listed building consent to demolish the chapel and develop 21 sheltered accommodation units.· After an inquiry, the Minister granted planning permission and listed building consent for the demolition of the building.· Repairs to the grade two listed building are expected to cost more than £1,000.· It is an offence to demolish or to alter a listed building unless listed building consent has been obtained.
· The effect was heightened by the pavilions which straddled the track behind the main building.· Some Enterprise rooms are in the annexe directly opposite the main building.· Has the building been changed from the original by additions and alterations, and are these cracking away from the main building?· But because of the height they looked right over the roof of the main building of Anpetuwi Lodge.· The present thick Ethernet cabling outside the main building has too many tight-radius bends, which cause packet collision errors.· The main building had a high pointed roof with a cupola on top.· Part of the main building has recently been restored, but the bulk of the station is in a very poor state.
· Today there is a large new building on the other side of the farm house and clipping and storage is conducted there.· The schools had not improved, although new school buildings were planned.· In 1932, the school was promised a new building and never got it.· Compared to our newer buildings, it is lacking in some of the more modern facilities.· This cycle causes considerable market uncertainty affecting the occupiers, developers, investors and planners involved in new building.· To give body to the reforms new building was needed on a massive scale.· The machine, thirty feet long on the first floor of the new building had overheated.· Alifabs Ambassador extruded aluminium fascia gutter and rainwater system is the design ideal for both new and existing buildings.
· Any architect knows that, as a rule, old buildings are more soundly built than new ones.· Pier 70: Its small older buildings would make a historic district, Wong believes.· He took a torch with him, left the car and entered the old building.· Rimswell was mentioned in the Domesday Book, but there are no really old buildings left, although some are of interest.· Beneath the palace were the ruins of at least three older buildings, he said.· At Dovey Junction a new stand-up only passenger shelter has been erected following the demolition of the old buildings.· The once bustling riverside is now a quiet street, with many of the old buildings well preserved.· The old building, seen from the Thames on summer days, is quietly and broodingly majestic.
· No expense was spared to produce a station worthy to stand beside the other civic buildings.· Not far away, silhouetting the pleasant pastures, is an ornate dovecote with other attractive buildings.· There are other ways of building strength besides lifting weights.· The height may be reduced and the other buildings will be lowered and not much else will show in profile Voice over.· A pub, like any other old building, is far more than just its principle facade, or its four walls.· Jessica stared about in every direction, but she could see no other buildings, or sign of human life.· Many other important buildings were also razed to the ground.· It must have been entered via a passage between other buildings.
· Detailing all listed buildings to help the public and building owners.· The photographer also assembles an assortment of major public buildings whose poor designs have done their own damage to the city.· The pub is the only public building serving the Trendlewood estate and its 3,000 residents.· One of the most important changes we will see with many public buildings is their networking.· Many jurisdictions have required nonsmoking areas in restaurants or banned smoking in public buildings.· The building looks like a library or similar public building with its classical portico and columns with Ionic capitals.· As for public buildings, I still like visiting the Getty Museum.
· At least some of the seven small buildings just outside the military compounds at Corbridge may also belong in this category.· For 10 days, many small apartment buildings and old wooden houses had no heat.· They left behind them a mouldering group of small loft buildings whose interior columns might once have been ships' masts.· The port also has plans for Pier 70 where 40 to 50 small buildings could comprise a historical district.· The summit of Kilgrimol was almost level, bearing only a small round building of stone with a high peak of thatch.· Parallel to this row of huts was another row of small cubical buildings that sat off the ground on four posts.· The excavation of a village may reveal a number of small buildings clustered around one much larger building.· Surrounding the town square were numerous small buildings, including the courthouse.
· Ever. 22 October Tall buildings loom before me.· It gusted into every overhang of concrete, whistled down the brick funnels on the tall building where she lived.· Before the steel skeleton, tall buildings were made of stone.· A few minutes later the spaceship was falling towards a planet covered with tall buildings.· He did one of New York tall buildings, a sunny day.· Britain's tallest building, the Post Office Tower in London, opened, 1965.· Urban environments imply low air quality very high levels of light pollution, and serious obscuration of the sky by tall buildings.
NOUN· The city is subsidizing private property managers to renovate and buy 200 city-owned apartment buildings.· For 10 days, many small apartment buildings and old wooden houses had no heat.· I waited for him for an hour, outside his half-built apartment building.· It provides hot water units for apartment buildings and swimming pools.· The horizontality of her fallen body is juxtaposed to the vertical thrust of the apartment building.· Many of the apartment buildings fell into disrepair from the 1950s on, some so badly that the city demolished them.· In Lezhe we found a contractor who had just completed a couple of impressive apartment buildings.· Check those apartment buildings next door-who owns them?
· Words, pictures, initiatives, and personal actions provide the buildings blocks for vision.· Analogue design remains important because it accommodates and defines the basic building blocks of electronics.· They formed gases and ultimately amino acids, the so-called building blocks of life.· All vertebrates have basically the same building blocks but they are put together in different ways.· So the question is: What are the truly elementary particles, the basic building blocks from which everything is made?· She sat on the floor with building blocks and toys you could push about.
· It benefits from a lovely site, opposite the parish church and close to farm buildings, away from the village centre.· For economy in building costs, these three types of farm buildings were sometimes combined into a single building.· The farm buildings so often found below the galleries are situated further away in this case.· The gallery on this house on Church Hill was probably part of larger farm buildings facing the meadows.· The aircraft was stored de-rigged in farm buildings.· A well and cheese press are below in the yard with the farm buildings situated below and behind the gallery.
· Consequently, the fall in demand for building materials and construction workers will generate downward multiplier effects on other types of investment.· Many building materials such as lime mortars and plasters, Portland cement and asbestos cement develop alkalis.· But one inventor thinks he has the answer - a building material made of straw that can withstand very high temperatures.· Traditionally Byzantine in the building materials and plan, it is more eastern in the decoration and treatment.· Yet no one teaches these birds how to find their building materials, how to prepare them, how to weave them.· Loess is a clay that is easily cut and holds its shape; it can be incredibly accommodating as a building material.· So acids, it would seem, are associated with the paints, alkalis with the building materials.
· But with office buildings there is no allowance at all.· Even in federal jobs and office buildings in Washington where black employees had once worked freely with whites, segregation was reestablished.· Higher up the hill the streets were full of office buildings, so that the parishioners were caretakers.· They smoke between classes and after lunch, much like their adult counterparts who huddle outside office buildings for smoke breaks.· She gazed down at the London horizon, its tranquillity pierced by hulks of office buildings.· He had just heard the full story from Nigel Cramer in his office atop the Home Office building.· In addition, office buildings abandoned in the real-estate crash of the late-1980s are being reborn as apartments and condominiums.
· Now his lifesize copies of himself can be seen clambering over the school buildings.· Just as the Empire State Building contains hundreds of companies, so could all our big school buildings contain many schools.· Now they've been given a derelict school building, gutted by fire, for their new community association.· The schools had not improved, although new school buildings were planned.· The schools building programme ceased in 1985, and at that time too teachers' real salaries began to decline rapidly.· And they praised the use of metal detectors to prevent students from carrying guns into school buildings.· The government began by taking on much of the financial responsibility for education, with the exception of some school building.· We are, unfortunately, stuck with the huge, unpleasant, and often downright ugly school buildings that we have.
· This seems to them more like a building site than a City office.· All over the city are huge building sites where the sun pours into vast craters.· He had, meantime, managed to get himself a job on a building site.· As part of his job he is required to visit building sites.· A near miracle to those of us who have been contemplating what seemed an eternal building site.· It would have been with some one butch, a Guardsman or a man on a building site.· These provisions vary depending on the nature of your work - a building site is obviously different from an office.
· Several petrol stations and a building society in the town have already installed the equipment.· When the houses are up, the co-operative takes out a real loan with a building society.· She agreed to accompany me to the building society the next day so that we could withdraw Charlie's share of the money.· In practice, it is only the largest of building societies which can offer a real competitive challenge.· Until 1983 building societies were prevented from so doing.· Another feature of building society expansion in recent years has been the increasing concentration of the industry through merger activity.· This time it was the Leeds building society, again in Oxford, again it was an armed raid.· M4 is M3 plus building society deposits.
· Before any building work began County Durham archaeologists from the Bowes Museum wanted to make a thorough check of what was buried.· As problems emerged, building work was switched from one industrial consortium to another.· For example, consider a computer system designed to be used to estimate the cost of building work.· And last night the council gave its approval, building work could start within the next few months.· However, that will take man power away from essential building work and the development of the railway will be delayed.· The nature of building work normally necessitates the use of a gang.· The site will be completely cleared and made safe until building work can start on the new development.
WORD FAMILYnounbuildbuilderbuildingverbbuildrebuildadjectivebuilt
1[countable] a structure such as a house, church, or factory, that has a roof and walls: The offices are on the top two floors of the building. a farmhouse and other farm buildings2[uncountable] the process or business of building things: There is a limited supply of land for building. stone, timber, and other building materialsbuilding of The enquiry recommended the building of a tunnel.COLLOCATIONSverbsput up a building (also erect a building formal)· They keep pulling down the old buildings and putting up new ones.pull down/knock down/tear down a building· All the medieval buildings were torn down.demolish/destroy a building (=pull it down)· Permission is needed to demolish listed buildings.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + buildinga tall building· The park was surrounded by tall buildings.a high-rise building (=very tall with many floors)· a New York high-rise buildinga low building· That low building is a stable block.an office/school/hospital etc building· Our office building is just ten minutes’ walk from where I live.a public building· The town has a number of interesting public buildings, including the old town hall.a beautiful building (also a fine/handsome building British English)· The old station was a fine building, but has sadly been demolished.an impressive/imposing building· the impressive buildings around the town’s central squarea brick/stone/wooden building· The farmhouse is a long stone building about a century old.a two-storey/three-storey etc building (=with two, three etc floors)· Our villa was a delightful two-storey building.a single-storey/one-storey building (=with only one floor)a historic building (=an old building of historical interest)· Most of the historic buildings are from the 18th century.a listed building British English (=a historic building that is protected by a government order)· The school is actually a listed building.a derelict building (=empty and in very bad condition)· Near the canal there are a number of derelict buildings.a dilapidated building (=in bad condition)· He rented an apartment at the top of a dilapidated building in Paris.a ramshackle building (also a tumbledown building British English) (=old and almost falling down)· The farm was surrounded by tumbledown buildings.THESAURUSbuilding a structure such as a house, church, or factory, that has a roof and walls: · The college needs money to pay for new buildings.property formal a building or piece of land, or both together – used especially when talking about buying and selling buildings or land: · The next property they looked at was too small.· The company received permission to build six residential properties on the land.premises formal the buildings and land that a shop, restaurant, company etc uses: · You are not allowed to drink alcohol on the premises.· The bread is baked on the premises.complex a group of buildings, or a large building with many parts, used for a particular purpose: · The town has one of the best leisure complexes in the country.· a luxury apartment complexdevelopment a group of new buildings that have all been planned and built together on the same piece of land: · a new housing development· a huge industrial developmentblock especially British English a large tall building that contains apartments or offices, or is part of a school, university, or hospital: · an office block· a block of flats· a tower block (=a very tall building - often used disapprovingly)· My next lecture is in the science block.facility especially American English a place or building used for a particular activity or industry: · a research facility on campusedifice formal a large building, especially one that is tall and impressive – a very formal use: · Their head office was an imposing edifice.structure formal something that has been made to stand upright – used especially when talking about buildings: · The stone arch is one of the town’s oldest existing structures.· an immense barn-like structure· Mogul calls this building, designed by Donald and John Parkinson in 1928, ‘the most important structure in Los Angeles of the 20th century.’