infrastructure

[ in-fruh-struhk-cher ]

noun

1. the fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, as transportation and communication systems, power plants, and schools:

   Investments in infrastructure helped the U.S. economy recover from the Great Depression.

2. the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization:

   Over the years, as the incidence of cancer increased, the infrastructure of the hospital was developed to accommodate the new cases.

   Synonyms: support, foundation, basis

3. the military installations of a country:

   We could do much with just a fraction of the billions spent to maintain our robust overseas infrastructure.

infrastructure

/ ˈɪnfrəˌstrʌktʃə /

noun

1. the basic structure of an organization, system, etc
2. the stock of fixed capital equipment in a country, including factories, roads, schools, etc, considered as a determinant of economic growth

Other Words From

• in·fra·struc·tur·al adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of infrastructure¹

First recorded in 1925–30; infra + structure

Example Sentences

This makes it possible to use a satellite connection instead of terrestrial GSM networks, which guarantees coverage even in remote wilderness regions completely independent of local infrastructure.

From Science Daily

Croeser said current ways of designing or retrofitting streets did not support healthy canopy growth as planning prioritised infrastructure such as cabling and pipelines over tree growth.

From Science Daily

Others say it needs to offer greater taxpayer-funded incentives for electric cars, and to do more to reassure car buyers that enough charging infrastructure will be built.

From BBC

Even with some type of disaster relief, Bell said loss of land, crops and infrastructure, such as sprinkler heads, valves, pipe fittings and hoses, can set a farmer back about six years or more.

From Los Angeles Times

It is believed changes include replacing seating in some areas of the ground with terracing, reducing press facilities and altering the hospitality layout as well as the plans for WiFi infrastructure.

From BBC

Related Words

• base
• framework