build

[bild] /bɪld/
verb (used with object), built or (Archaic) builded; building.
1.
to construct (especially something complex) by assembling and joining parts or materials:
to build a house.
2.
to establish, increase, or strengthen (often followed by up):
to build a business; to build up one's hopes.
3.
to mold, form, or create:
to build boys into men.
4.
to base; found:
a relationship built on trust.
5.
Games.
  1. to make (words) from letters.
  2. to assemble (cards) according to number, suit, etc., as in melding.
verb (used without object), built or (Archaic) builded; building.
6.
to engage in the art, practice, or business of building.
7.
to form or construct a plan, system of thought, etc. (usually followed by on or upon):
He built on the philosophies of the past.
8.
to increase or develop toward a maximum, as of intensity, tempo, or magnitude (often followed by up):
The drama builds steadily toward a climax.
noun
9.
the physical structure, especially of a person; physique; figure:
He had a strong build.
10.
the manner or form of construction:
The house was of modern build.
11.
Computers.
  1. a version of a program after compilation, typically an update to an existing version made before the program is released.
  2. the process of producing a software build.
  3. a new version or update of data in a database or on a website:
    frequent, incremental builds of data.
12.
Masonry.
  1. a vertical joint.
  2. the vertical dimension of a stone laid on its bed.
Verb phrases
13.
build in/into, to build or incorporate as part of something else:
to build in bookcases between the windows; an allowance for travel expenses built into the budget.
14.
build up,
  1. to develop or increase:
    to build up a bank account.
  2. to strengthen.
  3. to prepare in stages.
  4. to fill in with houses; develop into an urban area.
  5. to praise or flatter.
Origin
before 1150; Middle English bilden, Old English byldan, derivative of bold, variant of botl dwelling, house
Related forms
buildable, adjective
misbuild, verb, misbuilt, misbuilding.
outbuild, verb (used with object), outbuilt, outbuilding.
prebuild, verb (used with object), prebuilt, prebuilding.
superbuild, verb, superbuilt, superbuilding.
unbuildable, adjective
underbuild, verb, underbuilt, underbuilding.
Can be confused
billed, build.
Examples from the web for build
  • Here's how to build a simple wire structure for your climbing plants more.
  • build up of this type, known to form only on silver, will be removed by electrolysis.
  • At the same time, on-site workers would build the foundation.
  • The new center will expand and build upon this model.
  • Not only does the agency in effect claim the power to tell firms where they may build factories.
  • Metalmark moth caterpillars can build their own versions of home security systems out of silk, according to new research.
  • So he gathered the village's leaders together and began to devise a plan to build a library.
  • The build tray then moves down and the process is repeated for the next layer.
  • The idea to try and build a perfect robotic version of a human is inherently flawed.
  • But they have a dark side: when the wrong forms of them build up in the body, they cause a disease called porphyria.
British Dictionary definitions for build

build

/bɪld/
verb builds, building, built
1.
to make, construct, or form by joining parts or materials: to build a house
2.
(intransitive) to be a builder by profession
3.
(transitive) to order the building of: the government builds most of our hospitals
4.
foll by on or upon. to base; found: his theory was not built on facts
5.
(transitive) to establish and develop: it took ten years to build a business
6.
(transitive) to make in a particular way or for a particular purpose: the car was not built for speed
7.
(intransitive) often foll by up. to increase in intensity: the wind was building
8.
(cards)
  1. to add cards to each other to form (a sequence or set)
  2. (intransitive) to add to the layout of cards on the table from one's hand
noun
9.
physical form, figure, or proportions: a man with an athletic build
See also build in, build into, build up
Word Origin
Old English byldan; related to bylda farmer, bold building, Old Norse bōl farm, dwelling; see bower1
Word Origin and History for build
v.

late Old English byldan "construct a house," verb form of bold "house," from Proto-Germanic *buthlam (cf. Old Saxon bodl, Old Frisian bodel "building, house"), from PIE *bhu- "to dwell," from root *bheue- "to be, exist, grow" (see be). Rare in Old English; in Middle English it won out over more common Old English timbran (see timber). Modern spelling is unexplained. Figurative use from mid-15c. Of physical things other than buildings from late 16c. Related: Builded (archaic); built; building.

In the United States, this verb is used with much more latitude than in England. There, as Fennimore Cooper puts it, everything is BUILT. The priest BUILDS up a flock; the speculator a fortune; the lawyer a reputation; the landlord a town; and the tailor, as in England, BUILDS up a suit of clothes. A fire is BUILT instead of made, and the expression is even extended to individuals, to be BUILT being used with the meaning of formed. [Farmer, "Slang and Its Analogues," 1890]

n.

"style of construction," 1660s, from build (v.). Earlier in this sense was built (1610s). Meaning "physical construction and fitness of a person" attested by 1981. Earliest sense, now obsolete, was "a building" (early 14c.).

Slang definitions & phrases for build

build

noun
  1. One's physique, esp one's figure or shape; bod: a husky build/ sexy build (1850s+)
  2. A show whose earnings continue to increase: The revue was a build once word-of-mouth took hold (1950s+ Theater)
  3. : It's been a long build, but we can make our move now
verb

To prepare someone for swindling, extortion, etc; SET someone UP (1920s+ Underworld)

[first noun sense perhaps influenced by earlier build, ''the look and shape of tailored clothing'']


Idioms and Phrases with build

build

also see:
light (build) a fire under
also see under:
built
Encyclopedia Article for build

body shape

human body shape and physique type. The term somatotype is used in the system of classification of human physical types developed by U.S. psychologist W.H. Sheldon. In Sheldon's system, human beings can be classified as to body build in terms of three extreme body types: endomorphic, or round, fat type; mesomorphic, or muscular type; and ectomorphic, or slim, linear type. A somatotype number of three digits is determined for an individual classified by the system, with the first digit referring to endomorphy, the second to mesomorphy, and the third to ectomorphy; each digit is on a scale of one to seven. Hence the extreme endomorph has the somatotype 711, the extreme mesomorph 171, and the extreme ectomorph 117. The classification numbers are negatively correlated, so that a high number in one class precludes high numbers in the others; in practice, extreme types (711, 171, 117) are rare or nonexistent, and the person of normal build has a somatotype approaching 444, evenly balanced between extremes. See also ectomorph; endomorph; mesomorph.

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