superstructure
Americannoun
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the part of a building or construction entirely above its foundation or basement.
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any structure built on something else.
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the overlying framework or features of an organization, institution, or system, built or superimposed on a more fundamental base.
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Nautical. any construction built above the main deck of a vessel as an upward continuation of the sides.
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the part of a bridge that rests on the piers and abutments.
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anything based on or rising from some foundation or basis.
a complex ideological superstructure based on two hypotheses.
noun
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the part of a building above its foundation
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any structure or concept erected on something else
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nautical any structure above the main deck of a ship with sides flush with the sides of the hull
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the part of a bridge supported by the piers and abutments
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(in Marxist theory) an edifice of interdependent agencies of the state, including legal and political institutions and ideologies, each possessing some autonomy but remaining products of the dominant mode of economic production
Other Word Forms
- superstructural adjective
Etymology
Origin of superstructure
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.
Photos shared by the Royal Thai Navy showed heavy black smoke billowing from the hull and superstructure of the Thai-registered Mayuree Naree, with life rafts floating in the water.
From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026
A majority of heavy lift and hauling services relates to above-ground or superstructure work that occurs after foundation and substructure work is mostly completed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 19, 2026
Sonar scans indicate the vehicles that fell into the water are encased in a "superstructure" of concrete and other debris, say state police.
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2024
“Based on sonar scans, we firmly believe that the vehicles are encased in the superstructure and concrete that we tragically saw come down,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2024
Well behind the gangway, and oddly out of sight of the coxswains, the starter stood on a platform constructed atop the superstructure of a flat-bottomed boat.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
