Construction is the building of things such as houses, factories, roads, and bridges.
He'd already started construction on a hunting lodge.
...the only nuclear power station under construction in Britain.
...the downturn in the construction industry.
Quincy wants a job in construction.
2. uncountable noun
The construction of something such as a vehicle or machine is the making of it.
...companies who have long experience in the construction of those types of equipment. [+ of]
With the exception of teak, this is the finest wood for boat construction.
Synonyms: building, assembly, creation, formation More Synonyms of construction
3. uncountable noun [with poss]
The construction of something such as a system is the creation of it.
...the construction of a just system of criminal justice. [+ of]
4. countable noun
You can refer to an object that has been built or made as a construction.
The British pavilion is an impressive steel and glass construction the size of WestminsterAbbey.
Synonyms: structure, building, edifice, form More Synonyms of construction
5. uncountable noun
You use construction to refer to the structure of something and the way it has been built or made.
The Shakers believed that furniture should be plain, simple, useful, practical andof sound construction.
The chairs were light in construction yet extremely strong.
6. countable noun [usually singular]
The construction that you put on what someone says or does is your interpretation of what it means.
The denial was limited to rejecting the construction put on his remarks.
He put the wrong construction on what he saw.
Synonyms: interpretation, meaning, reading, sense More Synonyms of construction
7. countable noun
A grammatical construction is a particular arrangement of words in a sentence, clause, or phrase.
Avoid complex verbal constructions.
Synonyms: composition, structure, arrangement More Synonyms of construction
construction in British English
(kənˈstrʌkʃən)
noun
1.
the process or act of constructing or manner in which a thing is constructed
2.
the thing constructed; a structure
3.
a.
the business or work of building dwellings, offices, etc
b.
(as modifier)
a construction site
4.
an interpretation or explanation of a law, text, action, etc
they put a sympathetic construction on her behaviour
5. grammar
a group of words that together make up one of the constituents into which a sentence may be analysed; a phrase or clause
6. geometry
a drawing of a line, angle, or figure satisfying certain conditions, used in solving a problem or proving a theorem
7.
an abstract work of art in three dimensions or relief
See also constructivism (sense 1)
Derived forms
constructional (conˈstructional)
adjective
constructionally (conˈstructionally)
adverb
construction in American English
(kənˈstrʌkʃən)
noun
1.
the act or process of constructing
2.
the way in which something is constructed; manner or method of building
3.
something constructed; structure; building
4.
an explanation or interpretation
to put the wrong construction on a statement
5. Linguistics
a grammatical pattern consisting of two or more immediate constituents
6.
a three-dimensional work of art, usually nonrepresentational and constructed of more than one material
Derived forms
constructional (conˈstructional)
adjective
constructionally (conˈstructionally)
adverb
Word origin
ME construccioun < OFr construction < L constructio
COBUILD Collocations
construction
housing construction
Examples of 'construction' in a sentence
construction
Buildings under construction have an amazing way of visually shrinking and expanding.
Christianity Today (2000)
The demand for steel in construction is set to be slow for the rest of this year.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The two men had been partners in a construction business.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
But the grammar depends on the sentence construction.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
We have huge demand for housing and we need to encourage the construction industry to build.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There was also intensive construction work at the wind park during the past two years.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The regional fire service spokesman said that the people trapped inside were construction workers.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
You have acquired a mastery of complex grammatical constructions.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Within the industry it was a challenge to think imaginatively and tackle the growing costs of construction.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Her father was head of a construction business and at weekends she visited building sites with him.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
And that it will do much more than just construction.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The construction industry is in splendid shape.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The first visit was cancelled because construction work was due to take place in your area.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Other items were found at the site by construction workers.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
One ray of hope: the president has decided to encourage the construction of new nuclear plants.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This movement was more significant than any change in the cracks caused by the Tube line construction.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This has helped house prices to recover, as well as the construction and building industries.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
That construction is quite complex, but the meaning is clear and the choice of pronoun is right.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
After that he worked for the family firm in Calcutta, supplying construction sites with steel.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The Government is also eager to provide sufficient incentives for the construction of new nuclear plants in Britain.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
There is no doubt that the language is changing, and rightly so, but sloppy sentence construction must be stopped.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The construction equipment firm said sales for the first half of 2015 were down 43 per cent on the same period last year.
The Sun (2015)
In other languages
construction
British English: construction /kənˈstrʌkʃən/ NOUN
Construction is the building or creating of something.
A new school is under construction.
American English: construction
Arabic: إِنْشَاء
Brazilian Portuguese: construção
Chinese: 建筑
Croatian: gradnja
Czech: stavba
Danish: opførelse
Dutch: constructie
European Spanish: construcción
Finnish: rakentaminen
French: construction
German: Struktur
Greek: κατασκευή
Italian: costruzione
Japanese: 建設
Korean: 건설
Norwegian: konstruksjon
Polish: budowa
European Portuguese: construção
Romanian: construcție
Russian: сооружение
Latin American Spanish: construcción
Swedish: konstruktion
Thai: การก่อสร้าง
Turkish: yapma
Ukrainian: будівництво
Vietnamese: xây dựng
All related terms of 'construction'
construction boom
If there is a boom in the economy , there is an increase in economic activity, for example in the amount of things that are being bought and sold.
construction job
A job is the work that someone does to earn money.
construction paper
heavy , colored paper used, as by children in school, for crayon and ink drawings , watercolors, cutouts, etc.
construction site
the piece of land where a building, etc, is to be located
road construction
the building of roads
construction activity
Activity is a situation in which a lot of things are happening or being done.
construction company
a business enterprise concerned with the construction of buildings, bridges , etc
construction engineer
a person trained in the profession of planning and managing the construction of buildings, bridges , etc
construction industry
a branch of commercial enterprise concerned with the construction of buildings, bridges , etc
construction sector
A particular sector of a country's economy is the part connected with that specified type of industry.
construction worker
a person who works in the construction industry, esp one engaged in manual work
housing construction
Construction is the building of things such as houses, factories , roads, and bridges .
homonymous construction
a construction that consists of the same morphemes in the same order as those of another construction, as Flying planes can be dangerous , in which planes in one construction is the object of flying , and in another the subject of can ; a terminal string of formatives having two or more structural descriptions
squinting modifier
a word or phrase that can modify either the words that precede it or those that follow, as frequently in the sentence Studying frequently is tedious