CONSTRUCTION

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does construction mean? 

• CONSTRUCTION (noun)
  The noun CONSTRUCTION has 7 senses:

1. the act of constructing something

2. a group of words that form a constituent of a sentence and are considered as a single unit

3. the creation of a construct; the process of combining ideas into a congruous object of thought

4. a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts

5. drawing a figure satisfying certain conditions as part of solving a problem or proving a theorem

6. an interpretation of a text or action

7. the commercial activity involved in repairing old structures or constructing new ones

  Familiarity information: CONSTRUCTION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONSTRUCTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of constructing something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

building; construction

Context example:

his hobby was the building of boats

Hypernyms ("construction" is a kind of...):

creating from raw materials (the act of creating something that is different from the materials that went into it)

Domain member category:

reface (provide with a new facing)

wattle (build of or with wattle)

frame; frame up (construct by fitting or uniting parts together)

rebuild; reconstruct (build again)

groin (build with groins)

erect; put up; raise; rear; set up (construct, build, or erect)

preassemble; prefabricate (to manufacture sections of (a building), especially in a factory, so that they can be easily transported to and rapidly assembled on a building site of buildings)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "construction"):

bricolage (construction of something by whatver material are available)

rustication (the construction of masonry or brickwork in a rustic manner)

ship building; shipbuilding (the construction of ships)

road construction (the construction of roads)

grading; leveling (changing the ground level to a smooth horizontal or gently sloping surface)

dry walling (the activity of building stone walls without mortar)

assembly; fabrication (the act of constructing something (as a piece of machinery))

house-raising (construction by a group of neighbors)

erecting; erection (the act of building or putting up)

crenelation; crenellation (the action of constructing ramparts with gaps for firing guns or arrows)

Derivation:

construct (make by combining materials and parts)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A group of words that form a constituent of a sentence and are considered as a single unit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

construction; expression; grammatical construction

Context example:

I concluded from his awkward constructions that he was a foreigner

Hypernyms ("construction" is a kind of...):

constituent; grammatical constituent ((grammar) a word or phrase or clause forming part of a larger grammatical construction)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "construction"):

adjunct (a construction that can be used to extend the meaning of a word or phrase but is not one of the main constituents of a sentence)

clause ((grammar) an expression including a subject and predicate functioning as a part of a complex sentence)

complement (a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction)

involution (a long and intricate and complicated grammatical construction)

phrase (an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence)

predicator (an expression that predicates)

Antonym:

misconstruction (an ungrammatical constituent)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The creation of a construct; the process of combining ideas into a congruous object of thought

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

construction; mental synthesis

Hypernyms ("construction" is a kind of...):

cerebration; intellection; mentation; thinking; thought; thought process (the process of using your mind to consider something carefully)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "construction"):

crystallization (a mental synthesis that becomes fixed or concrete by a process resembling crystal formation)

gestation (the conception and development of an idea or plan)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

construction; structure

Context example:

she wore her hair in an amazing construction of whirls and ribbons

Hypernyms ("construction" is a kind of...):

artefact; artifact (a man-made object taken as a whole)

Meronyms (parts of "construction"):

base; foot; foundation; fundament; groundwork; substructure; understructure (lowest support of a structure)

plate (structural member consisting of a horizontal beam that provides bearing and anchorage)

structural member (support that is a constituent part of any structure or building)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "construction"):

lamination (a layered structure)

sail (any structure that resembles a sail)

public works (structures (such as highways or schools or bridges or docks) constructed at government expense for public use)

projection (any structure that branches out from a central support)

prefab (a prefabricated structure)

post and lintel (a structure consisting of vertical beams (posts) supporting a horizontal beam (lintel))

porch (a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance)

platform; weapons platform (any military structure or vehicle bearing weapons)

divider; partition (a vertical structure that divides or separates (as a wall divides one room from another))

impediment; impedimenta; obstructer; obstruction; obstructor (any structure that makes progress difficult)

hill; mound (structure consisting of an artificial heap or bank usually of earth or stones)

memorial; monument (a structure erected to commemorate persons or events)

masonry (structure built of stone or brick by a mason)

lookout; lookout station; observation tower; observatory (a structure commanding a wide view of its surroundings)

landing; landing place (structure providing a place where boats can land people or goods)

housing; living accommodations; lodging (structures collectively in which people are housed)

offset; set-back; setoff (structure where a wall or building narrows abruptly)

shelter (a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger)

shoebox (a structure resembling a shoebox (as a rectangular building or a cramped room or compartment))

sign; signboard (structure displaying a board on which advertisements can be posted)

arena; bowl; sports stadium; stadium (a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments)

superstructure (structure consisting of the part of a ship above the main deck)

supporting structure (a structure that serves to support something)

tower (a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building)

transept (structure forming the transverse part of a cruciform church; crosses the nave at right angles)

trestlework (a supporting structure composed of a system of connected trestles; for a bridge or pier or scaffold e.g.)

vaulting ((architecture) a vaulted structure)

shipway; slipway; ways (structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired)

wellhead (a structure built over a well)

wind tunnel (a structure resembling a tunnel where air is blown at known velocities for testing parts of aircraft)

honeycomb (a structure of small hexagonal cells constructed from beeswax by bees and used to store honey and larvae)

balance; counterbalance; equilibrium; equipoise (equality of distribution)

hull (the frame or body of ship)

airdock; hangar; repair shed (a large structure at an airport where aircraft can be stored and maintained)

altar (a raised structure on which gifts or sacrifices to a god are made)

arcade; colonnade (a structure composed of a series of arches supported by columns)

arch ((architecture) a masonry construction (usually curved) for spanning an opening and supporting the weight above it)

area (a part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function)

balcony (a platform projecting from the wall of a building and surrounded by a balustrade or railing or parapet)

balcony (an upper floor projecting from the rear over the main floor in an auditorium)

bascule (a structure or device in which one end is counterbalanced by the other (on the principle of the seesaw))

boarding (a structure of boards)

body (the external structure of a vehicle)

bridge; span (a structure that allows people or vehicles to cross an obstacle such as a river or canal or railway etc.)

building; edifice (a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place)

building complex; complex (a whole structure (as a building) made up of interconnected or related structures)

catchment (a structure in which water is collected (especially a natural drainage area))

coil; helix; spiral; volute; whorl (a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops)

column; pillar (a vertical cylindrical structure standing alone and not supporting anything (such as a monument))

jungle gym (a structure of vertical and horizontal rods where children can climb and play)

card-house; cardcastle; cardhouse; house of cards (an unstable construction with playing cards)

guide (a structure or marking that serves to direct the motion or positioning of something)

fountain (a structure from which an artificially produced jet of water arises)

floor; level; storey; story (a structure consisting of a room or set of rooms at a single position along a vertical scale)

false bottom (a horizontal structure that partitions a ship or box (especially one built close to the actual bottom))

establishment (a public or private structure (business or governmental or educational) including buildings and equipment for business or residence)

erection (a structure that has been erected)

entablature ((architecture) the structure consisting of the part of a classical temple above the columns between a capital and the roof)

door (a structure where people live or work (usually ordered along a street or road))

defence; defense; defensive structure (a structure used to defend against attack)

deathtrap (any structure that is very unsafe; where people are likely to be killed)

cross (a wooden structure consisting of an upright post with a transverse piece)

corner; quoin ((architecture) solid exterior angle of a building; especially one formed by a cornerstone)

colonnade (structure consisting of a row of evenly spaced columns)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Drawing a figure satisfying certain conditions as part of solving a problem or proving a theorem

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the assignment was to make a construction that could be used in proving the Pythagorean theorem

Hypernyms ("construction" is a kind of...):

mathematical operation; mathematical process; operation ((mathematics) calculation by mathematical methods)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "construction"):

quadrature (the construction of a square having the same area as some other figure)

Derivation:

construct (draw with suitable instruments and under specified conditions)

Sense 6

Meaning:

An interpretation of a text or action

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

construction; twist

Context example:

they put an unsympathetic construction on his conduct

Hypernyms ("construction" is a kind of...):

interpretation (an explanation that results from interpreting something)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The commercial activity involved in repairing old structures or constructing new ones

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

building; construction

Context example:

workers in the building trades

Hypernyms ("construction" is a kind of...):

business; business enterprise; commercial enterprise (the activity of providing goods and services involving financial and commercial and industrial aspects)

Meronyms (parts of "construction"):

masonry (the craft of a mason)

house painting; painting (the occupation of a house painter)

plumbery; plumbing (the occupation of a plumber (installing and repairing pipes and fixtures for water or gas or sewage in a building))

roofing (the craft of a roofer)

sheet-metal work (the craft of doing sheet metal work (as in ventilation systems))

shingling (the laying on of shingles)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "construction"):

jerry-building (construction of inferior buildings for a quick profit)

 Context examples 

We're not going to get away from plastic — in my opinion, it's very useful, in medicine, transportation and construction.

(Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch Growing Rapidly, Study Finds, VOA)

The Kuiper Belt is a vast reservoir of leftover frozen material from the construction of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago and home to several dwarf planets.

(Hubble Discovers Moon Orbiting the Dwarf Planet Makemake, NASA)

A class of professional or vocational positions of employment that involve construction or extraction.

(Construction and Extraction Occupations, NCI Thesaurus)

Before its construction, Brazil's biomethane was solely produced from animal waste.

(Biomethane rises as alternate source of energy in Brazil, Agência Brasil)

“Cross-laminated timber is a popular choice of timber construction material. It’s made by gluing together layers of sawn timber, each at a right angle to the layer below,” said Shah.

(Visualising heat flow in bamboo could help design more energy-efficient and fire-safe buildings, University of Cambridge)

Authors also found indications that the rise in deforestation and the construction of dams could threaten the natural dynamics of fish dispersal.

(Amazon fish ‘face new threats’, SciDev.Net)

They are not the same DNA strands involved in reproduction and cell construction, but function instead like nano-organs with genetic programs that normally guide bacterial cell processes.

(Test for life-threatening nutrient deficit is made from bacteria entrails, National Science Foundation)

Examples include problems with construction or assembly.

(Device Manufacturing Deficiency Evaluation Conclusion, Food and Drug Administration)

Issue associated with an undesired streak, pattern, and/or a noticeable change in color from the rest of the materials used in device construction.

(Discolored Medical Device Material, Food and Drug Administration)

Issue associated with a deleterious change in the chemical structure, physical properties, or appearance in the materials that are used in device construction.

(Medical Device Material Degradation, Food and Drug Administration)