- present participle of build.
building
Americannoun
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buildings
plural
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a relatively permanent enclosed construction over a plot of land, having a roof and usually windows and often more than one level, used for any of a wide variety of activities, as living, entertaining, or manufacturing.
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anything built or constructed.
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the act, business, or practice of constructing houses, office buildings, etc.
noun
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something built with a roof and walls, such as a house or factory
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the act, business, occupation, or art of building houses, boats, etc
Synonym Usage
Building, edifice, structure refer to something built. Building and structure may apply to either a finished or an unfinished product of construction, and carry no implications as to size or condition. Edifice is a more formal word and narrower in application, referring to a completed structure, and usually a large and imposing one. Building generally connotes a useful purpose (houses, schools, business offices, etc.); structure suggests the planning and constructive process.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of building
First recorded in 1250–1300, building is from the Middle English word byldinge. See build, -ing 1
Explanation
Building is the process of making something. Building Lego cities and towns is the favorite activity of many kids. When a construction company is building a structure like a grocery store or a school, you can say it's building a building. Anything from a small house to a skyscraper can be called a building, and both meanings of the word come from the verb build, with its Old English root byldan, "build or construct a house."
Vocabulary lists containing building
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In part, that is because the original heating system was inefficient: Before, tenants frequently opened windows in the winter because the building was so overheated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Tesla’s impressive flying Roadster isn’t about building cars at all.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026
Fire crews also battled the fire at Limoges town hall, which the local prefecture said caused part of the building to collapse.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
It’s one of the great power ballads of the last 25 years, with a chorus as cathartic as any in modern pop; Cyrus, the showbiz lifer, surely understood the payoff she was building toward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
I ran around to the outside of the building.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The BBC's James Waterhouse reports from the streets of Paris outside damaged buildings.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Harrogate-based architects Shaw & Jagger said the scheme was eventually passed by HM Planning Inspectorate through the country house clause, which allows development on green belt for buildings of "exceptional quality".
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
There are no febrile crowds in his images, no tall buildings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Beyond staff shortages, teachers and pupils must also contend with crumbling school buildings, which a 2023 Senate report estimated would require billions of euros to renovate and adapt to a changing climate.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
A few taller buildings stood up out of the floodwaters like castles with moats, and the tops of palm trees and electric poles sprouted from the water like mangroves.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
