megastructure

[ meg-uh-struhk-cher ]

noun

1. a very large, usually high-rise building or a complex of such buildings used for many purposes, as for apartments, offices, stores, theaters, and athletic facilities.
2. a very large, complex organization.

Word History and Origins

Origin of megastructure¹

First recorded in 1960–65; mega- + structure

Example Sentences

Another possible way to find a megastructure would be to measure its dimming effect on a star.

From Salon

As I prepared to leave China in 2008, the Soviet-era airport had given way to a glittering megastructure designed by Norman Foster.

From BBC

This star gained fame when a far-fetched hypothesis that this dimming could be the first signs of an alien megastructure took root.

From Scientific American

In 1960, amid rapid economic growth and concerns about energy shortages, physicist Freeman Dyson imagined an advanced society might build a megastructure surrounding a star to capture its energy.

From Science Magazine

Eventually MXC was going to have a megastructure where you’d just have a frame for your main structure and you could plug in units based on what you needed, so it would be constantly shifting.

From The Verge