edifice
Americannoun
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a building, especially one of large size or imposing appearance.
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any large, complex system or organization.
noun
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a building, esp a large or imposing one
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a complex or elaborate institution or organization
Related Words
See building.
Other Word Forms
- edificial adjective
- unedificial adjective
Etymology
Origin of edifice
1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, Middle French < Latin aedificium, equivalent to aedific ( āre ) to build ( edify ) + -ium -ium
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.
Most Europeans see trans-Atlanticism as something like an edifice, with a wooden facade built over brick walls sitting on granite foundations.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
Thick layers of sediment rich in organic material lie beneath the volcanic edifice.
From Science Daily • Nov. 26, 2025
The Coast Guard decommissioned the St. George Reef Lighthouse in 1975, replacing the grand edifice with a floating, automated buoy light.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 26, 2025
The home kitchen is not a distribution center, and most container influencers lack the resources to absorb endless price increases without the whole edifice falling apart.
From Slate • Mar. 15, 2025
That show’s Library was a monumental edifice, with towering marbled halls and tinkling fountains, like the lobby of some five-star hotel.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
