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Meaning & use

building

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈbɪldɪŋ/
US/ˈbɪldɪŋ/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    A structure with walls and a roof, such as a house, school, office or factory.

    Grammar: Use an or the, or the plural: a building, two buildings.

    Patterns

    • a building for something
    • in the building

    The oldest building in the village is the stone church.

    Please leave the building by the nearest exit.

    They turned an empty factory building into flats.

  2. noununcountable

    The activity or business of putting up houses, roads and other structures.

    Grammar: No plural and no a: building has slowed this year.

    Patterns

    • building work
    • the building of something

    Building on the new bridge will start in spring.

    The building of the dam took nearly ten years.

    Rising prices have hit the building industry hard.

  3. noununcountable

    The gradual creation or strengthening of something that is not physical, such as trust or a team.

    Grammar: Often appears as the second part of a compound: team building, confidence building.

    Patterns

    • the building of something

    The coach focused on team building before the season began.

    Trust building takes time between neighbours.

    Careful relationship building helped her win the contract.

Word forms

pluralbuildings

Common combinations

tall building
The tall building cast a long shadow over the square.
historic building
Many historic buildings were damaged in the storm.
building site
Children must stay away from the building site.
building regulations
The extension has to meet current building regulations.
public building
The library is a public building open to everyone.

Synonyms and how they differ

structure
Structure is broader and includes bridges and towers, whereas building suggests a place people go inside.
edifice
Edifice is formal and suggests a large, impressive building.
construction
Construction stresses the act or industry of building more than a finished place.

Opposites

ruindemolition

Word family

build verb
to make by putting parts together
builder noun
person who constructs buildings
rebuild verb
to build again
outbuilding noun
smaller structure separate from the main building
building block noun
basic part from which something is made

Commonly confused: building or built?

building vs built

Built is the past tense and participle of build (the house was built in 1990), while building is the -ing form or the noun.

Practice

Choose the sentence in which building means the process, not a structure.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “building”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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