build
Other forms: building; builds
To build is to construct or make something. When you build a house, you start at the very bottom, with the foundation, and work your way up.
You build a birdhouse using scraps of wood, a hammer, and nails, or you can build a career as a poet by writing daily and submitting poems to literary magazines. In both examples, you're constructing something yourself using materials and hard work. Another meaning is to make stronger: "I have to build my endurance if I'm going to finish that marathon." The Old English root of build, byldan, specifically means "build a house," from bold, "house."
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make by combining materials and partstypes:revetconstruct a revetmentdry-wallconstruct with drywalllockbuild locks in order to facilitate the navigation of vesselswattlebuild of or with wattlegroinbuild with groinscantileverconstruct with girders and beams such that only one end is fixedcorduroybuild (a road) from logs laid side by side
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order, supervise, or finance the construction of
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build or establish something abstract
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give form to, according to a plan“build a modern nation”“build a million-dollar business”type of:developmake something new, such as a product or a mental or artistic creation
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found or ground
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be engaged in building
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constitution of the human bodysynonyms: body-build, habitus, physiquetypes:lankinessa tall and thin physiquetype of:bodily propertyan attribute of the body
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alternate name for the body of a human beingsynonyms: anatomy, bod, chassis, figure, flesh, form, frame, human body, material body, physical body, physique, shape, somatypes:persona human body (usually including the clothing)juvenile bodythe body of a young personadult bodythe body of an adult human beingmale bodythe body of a male human beingfemale bodythe body of a female human beingchild's bodythe body of a human childtype of:body, organic structure, physical structurethe entire structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
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form or accumulate steadily“Resistance to the manager's plan built up quickly”“Pressure is building up at the Indian-Pakistani border”type of:developgrow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment
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develop and grow
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improve the cleansing action of
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bolster or strengthen
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Vocabulary lists containing build
The children's story by Shel Silverstein suggests that giving is a good thing. But if you analyze the words more closely, you will see that there is an unpleasant imbalance of power between the two characters. Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 12 Unit 2's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: Pygmalion and the Statue, Pygmalion, Talkin' 'bout a Revolution, Cinderella, the Legend, Why Women Always Take Advantage of Men, The Giving Tree, A Rose for Emily, The Story of an Hour, The Chaser
Learn this list of synonyms for make.