prefab
1 of 2adjective
pre·fab (ˌ)prē-ˈfab 
ˈprē-ˌfab
: produced by prefabrication : prefabricated
a prefab house
prefab
2 of 2noun
: a prefabricated structure
Example Sentences
Noun The company sells hundreds of prefabs every year.
Recent Examples on the Web
Patricia Marx, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2022 Built from concrete or fiberglass, the often-prefab pools are lined with tile, vinyl or gunite (a blend of sand, cement and water). Allison Duncan, WSJ, 29 July 2022 My default state of mind is that the promise of music on the internet long ago slipped away into the dominance of streaming services that force or trick millions of listeners onto prefab genres. Wired, 22 July 2022 And not only did Marinetti succeed in his endeavors, but consider some of the sleek, prefab food in our diets—energy drinks and nutritional supplements, to name a few. Amanda Arnold, Bon Appétit, 23 June 2022 Classes meet in the sort of low-slung prefab structure that usually graces a construction site. Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 10 June 2022 When building a prefab home, remember that the site must be leveled, and there must be plenty of space for the necessary crane to place modular pieces of the house. Josh Thompson, Forbes, 6 June 2022 In El Cajon, the nonprofit Amikas is building small homes for homeless mothers and their children on church property, and Chula Vista is creating a shelter with prefab structures. Gary Warth, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 May 2022 Builder Pallet Shelter will assemble 66 prefab units to temporarily house more than 60 individuals. San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2022 Alissa Walker, Curbed, 7 July 2021 That's where this truck would be happy, on the open road, stoically towing a gigantic prefab shed or a yacht. Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, 22 July 2019 Connor Mill-Built Homes constructs prefabs with historically accurate exteriors but all the necessities of modern living. Dan Neil, WSJ, 27 June 2019 Marius Barstad, a Norwegian plastic surgeon, and his wife, Bente Eger, a sales agent for a fashion company, gave a humdrum 1970s prefab, perched on the edge of Oslo’s inner fjord, a radical makeover. J.s. Marcus, WSJ, 3 Oct. 2018 Not without drawbacks Just like every building method, prefab has its hassles. Michele Lerner, sacbee, 29 June 2018 High steel prices and a lack of practicality may have hindered them; the prefabs, like the McCormick House, would have had no attic or basement. Blair Kamin, chicagotribune.com, 8 June 2018 The Fox station in Madison opted not to run the prefab script. Sarah Hauer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2018 Less than 3 percent of housing starts in the United States in 2016 were some sort of prefab. Julie Lasky, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2018 See More
Adjective
The studio was a prefab, customized and commodious but still simple, completed in three months in the Parisian suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. Patricia Marx, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2022 Built from concrete or fiberglass, the often-prefab pools are lined with tile, vinyl or gunite (a blend of sand, cement and water). Allison Duncan, WSJ, 29 July 2022 My default state of mind is that the promise of music on the internet long ago slipped away into the dominance of streaming services that force or trick millions of listeners onto prefab genres. Wired, 22 July 2022 And not only did Marinetti succeed in his endeavors, but consider some of the sleek, prefab food in our diets—energy drinks and nutritional supplements, to name a few. Amanda Arnold, Bon Appétit, 23 June 2022 Classes meet in the sort of low-slung prefab structure that usually graces a construction site. Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 10 June 2022 When building a prefab home, remember that the site must be leveled, and there must be plenty of space for the necessary crane to place modular pieces of the house. Josh Thompson, Forbes, 6 June 2022 In El Cajon, the nonprofit Amikas is building small homes for homeless mothers and their children on church property, and Chula Vista is creating a shelter with prefab structures. Gary Warth, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 May 2022 Builder Pallet Shelter will assemble 66 prefab units to temporarily house more than 60 individuals. San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2022 Noun
Yes, Musk is now apparently living in a 375-square-foot prefab guest house in Texas. Alissa Walker, Curbed, 7 July 2021 That's where this truck would be happy, on the open road, stoically towing a gigantic prefab shed or a yacht. Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics, 22 July 2019 Connor Mill-Built Homes constructs prefabs with historically accurate exteriors but all the necessities of modern living. Dan Neil, WSJ, 27 June 2019 Marius Barstad, a Norwegian plastic surgeon, and his wife, Bente Eger, a sales agent for a fashion company, gave a humdrum 1970s prefab, perched on the edge of Oslo’s inner fjord, a radical makeover. J.s. Marcus, WSJ, 3 Oct. 2018 Not without drawbacks Just like every building method, prefab has its hassles. Michele Lerner, sacbee, 29 June 2018 High steel prices and a lack of practicality may have hindered them; the prefabs, like the McCormick House, would have had no attic or basement. Blair Kamin, chicagotribune.com, 8 June 2018 The Fox station in Madison opted not to run the prefab script. Sarah Hauer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2018 Less than 3 percent of housing starts in the United States in 2016 were some sort of prefab. Julie Lasky, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2018 See More Word History
First Known Use
Adjective
1937, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1942, in the meaning defined above
prefab
adjective
as in prefabricated
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- prefabricated
- commercial
- ready-made
- store
- bought
- hand-me-down
- mass-produced
- off-the-shelf
- off-the-peg
- off-the-rack
- store-bought
- ready-to-wear
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- custom
- customized
- bespoken
- homemade
- bespoke
- tailored
- handmade
- custom-made
- handcrafted
- tailor-made