buildv.

Brit.

/bɪld/, U.S.

/bɪld/

Inflections: Past tense and participle built, (archaic, regional, and nonstandard) builded;

Forms: 1. Present stem.

α. Old English byldan, early Middle English beolde (south-western), Middle English beelde, Middle English beilde (south-eastern), Middle English beld, Middle English belde, Middle English bielde, Middle English bijlde, Middle English bilede, Middle English bolde (south-western), Middle English–1500s bild, Middle English–1500s bilde, Middle English–1500s bulde, Middle English–1500s byld, Middle English–1500s bylde, Middle English–1600s builde, Middle English–1600s buylde, Middle English– build, 1500s beald, 1500s bield, 1500s byeld, 1500s–1600s buld, 1500s–1600s buyld, 1500s–1600s bwild, 1600s bwyld; English regional (northern) 1800s beeld, 1800s beild, 1800s bield; Scottish pre-1700 beild, pre-1700 beilde, pre-1700 beld, pre-1700 beuld, pre-1700 beulld, pre-1700 bild, pre-1700 boold, pre-1700 bould, pre-1700 bueld, pre-1700 builde, pre-1700 buld, pre-1700 bulld, pre-1700 buyld, pre-1700 bwylde, pre-1700 1700s– build; N.E.D. (1888) also records a form Middle English bield.

β. chiefly East Anglian Middle English beyll (northern), Middle English bile, Middle English byle, Middle English byll, Middle English bylle; English regional (northern) 1800s beel.

2. Past tense.

α. Old English–Middle English bylde, Middle English belde, Middle English bild, Middle English bilde, Middle English bilid, Middle English billed, Middle English builde, Middle English bulde, Middle English buyld, Middle English buylde, Middle English byld, Middle English byled, Middle English byllid, Middle English byllyd.

β. Middle English beeldide, Middle English belded, Middle English bildede, Middle English bildide, Middle English byldede, Middle English byldytte, Middle English–1500s bilded, Middle English–1500s bylded, Middle English–1500s byldid, Middle English–1500s byldyd, Middle English–1600s buylded, late Middle English– builded (now archaic, regional, or nonstandard), 1500s belldete, 1500s bildid, 1500s buyldyd, 1500s–1600s bulded; also Scottish pre-1700 beildit, pre-1700 beldit, pre-1700 buildit, pre-1700 buldit, pre-1700 buyldit.

γ. Middle English bilt, Middle English bilte, Middle English bult, Middle English bulte, Middle English bylt, Middle English bylte, Middle English–1600s buylt, 1500s–1600s builte, 1500s– built, 1800s–1900s belt (English regional (northern and north-east midlands)); Scottish pre-1700 belt, pre-1700 buelt, pre-1700 1700s– built.

δ. U.S. regional (in African-American usage) 1800s builted.

3. Past participle.

α. early Middle English ȝebyld (south-west midlands), Middle English beeld, Middle English beld, Middle English bild, Middle English bilde, Middle English biled, Middle English bilid, Middle English billed, Middle English bulde, Middle English bulled, Middle English buylde, Middle English bylde, Middle English bylid, Middle English bylyd, Middle English ibelde, Middle English ibilde, Middle English ibuld, Middle English ibulde, Middle English ibyld, Middle English ybeld, Middle English ybelde, Middle English ybilde, Middle English ybuld, Middle English ybuyld, Middle English ybylde, Middle English ybylede, Middle English ybylid, Middle English–1500s buyld, Middle English–1600s buld, 1500s build, 1500s bylled, 1500s byllyd; Scottish pre-1700 beild, pre-1700 bullid.

β. Middle English beeldid, Middle English beeldide, Middle English belded (in a late copy), Middle English beldyd, Middle English beyldede, Middle English beyldid, Middle English bieldid, Middle English byldede, Middle English byldid, Middle English byldyd, Middle English ibilded, Middle English ybeldyde, Middle English ybuylded, Middle English–1500s bilded, Middle English–1500s bildid, Middle English–1500s bylded, Middle English–1600s buylded, late Middle English– builded (now archaic, regional, or nonstandard), 1500s buildyd, 1500s buldyd, 1500s buyldyd, 1500s buyldyt; also Scottish pre-1700 beilded, pre-1700 beildit, pre-1700 beildyt, pre-1700 beldit, pre-1700 bildit, pre-1700 bouldit, pre-1700 buildit, pre-1700 bulded, pre-1700 buldit, pre-1700 buyldit, pre-1700 ybeildit, pre-1700 ybeldyt; N.E.D. (1888) also records a form late Middle English beldid.

γ. Middle English belt, Middle English bilte, Middle English bult, Middle English bylte, Middle English ybilt, Middle English ybilte, Middle English ybuylt, Middle English ybylt, Middle English–1500s bilt, Middle English–1500s bylt, Middle English–1500s ibylt, 1500s–1600s builte, 1500s–1600s buylt, 1500s–1600s ybuilt (archaic), 1500s– built; Scottish pre-1700 belt, pre-1700 buelt, pre-1700 1700s– built.

δ. U.S. regional (in African-American usage) 1900s– builted.

Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: English bytlan.

Etymology: Metathetic variant of Old English (weak Class I) bytlan (also weak Class II bytlian ) to build, erect < bottle n.¹; compare (with parallel metathesis) bold n. Compare the similarly-formed Old Frisian belda to provide with a dowry ( < bold house: see bold n.).The word is rare in Old English, and chiefly south-western and south-west midland in early Middle English. In Old English the derivative (agent noun) bylda builder, is also once attested (alongside bytla , in the same sense; < bytlan , bytlian ). Form history. The wide variety of forms reflects several divergent developments. The stem vowel of Old English byldan was subject to lengthening before the homorganic consonant group ld in late Old English, although in some varieties the short vowel was preserved (or reintroduced by later shortening), the modern standard pronunciation with unrounded short i being a prime example. This pronunciation could be shown by Middle English forms such as bild, bilde, byld, etc., but these could equally well reflect an unrounded long ī , which by the operation of the Great Vowel Shift was subsequently diphthongized to /ai/ (compare e.g. byeld and the parallel development of child n.); the evidence of the early modern orthoepists shows that the latter pronunciation was common. Similar ambiguity attaches to Middle English forms like beld, belde (at least when their provenance is south-eastern) as these continue Old English (Kentish) e or ē (unrounded and lowered < y or ȳ ); compare (unambiguously reflecting a long vowel) the form beilde in quot. a1500 at sense 1a, from a manuscript with a Kentish provenance; but pronunciation of the word with a short e was still current in some educated speech in the 17th cent., as evidenced by the homophone lists of Fox and Hookes (1673). In northern Middle English and Older Scots the word was subject to belated homorganic cluster lengthening, which occurred after early Middle English short vowel lowering, with the result that northern short i was lengthened to /eː/ (and subsequently raised to /iː/ by the operation of the Great Vowel Shift; compare Older Scots beild). In this form the word appears only late in Older Scots (in the second half of the 15th cent.), probably as a borrowing from English (the usual earlier Scots word is big v.¹); in the form build it is even later (16th cent.) and clearly adopted from English (see below). Old English y , ȳ typically remained as a high front rounded vowel in the west midlands and south-west until unrounded at the end of the 14th cent. (compare Middle English forms such as bulde, builde, buyld, which provide the modern standard spelling build ). However, with this particular word there is clear evidence that the western rounded pronunciation, like the western spelling, gained wider currency beyond the west and survived in some educated speech as late as the 17th cent. The orthoepist Gil (1619) notes it among no fewer than four pronunciations of the stem vowel of build , viz. (i) /yː/, (ii) /ai/ ( < Middle English ī , with diphthongization in the Great Vowel Shift), (iii) /ɪ/, and (iv) /iː/ ( < either south-eastern Middle English close ē or northern Middle English close ē (by belated homorganic cluster lengthening of short i ), both with raising in the Great Vowel Shift). Other orthoepists show only /ɪ/ or /ai/, presumably the most common realizations. (The diphthongal pronunciation survived in some regional varieties into the 20th cent.: J. Wright Eng. Dial. Gram. (1905) 358 records such a pronunciation from north-west Oxfordshire.) The form type build reached Scotland very late (16th cent.) apparently chiefly with the pronunciation /yː/, as spellings indicate that it was mostly assigned to the equivalent high front phoneme (compare e.g. build, buyld, buld, boold); occasional 17th-cent. forms such as beuld, bueld suggest possible merger in some speech with /ju/. The forms at Forms 1β. show a new present stem inferred from the past tense and past participle, by analogy with e.g. kill v., pill v.¹, till v.¹ (compare forms at those entries). Forms of the past tense and past participle. The α. forms show regular syncope of the vowel of the ending (characteristic of weak verbs of Class I in Old English) and simplification of the resulting stem-final consonant group; such forms survive (at least in the past participle) into the 17th cent. The β. forms lack syncope; they were formerly very common and considered standard, but now (in the form builded) archaic, regional, or nonstandard. The γ. forms are derived from the syncopated α. forms (which they eventually replace) with early Middle English devoicing of the stem-final dental after a liquid or nasal consonant (compare gild v., send v.¹, etc.). Difficulty of distinguishing from bield v. In some forms, especially in sense 8, the word can be difficult to distinguish from bield v. (compare sense 2 at that entry). Specific senses. With sense 8 compare the similar semantic development at edify v.

I. To construct, make, and related senses.

a. transitive. To construct, put up, erect (a house or other dwelling or building); to construct (a permanent static structure such as a wall, bridge, or architectural feature, a road or railway, etc.). Also: to commission, finance, direct, or oversee the construction of (something of this type).

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)]

timbera900

workOE

betimberOE

craftOE

buildc1275

lifta1300

stagec1330

upraise1338

wright1338

edifya1340

to make outa1382

to make upa1382

biga1400

housea1400

risea1400

telda1400–50

to work upa1450

redress1481

levy1495

upmake1507

upbuild1513

exstruct?c1550

construct1663

to run up1686

practise1739

to lay up1788

elevate1798

to put up1818

to lay down1851

practicate1851

OE Bounds (Sawyer 1388) (transcript of lost MS) in D. Hooke Warwickshire Anglo-Saxon Charter-bounds (1999) 121 Onbuton ðone croft ðe Wynstan bylde.

c1155 ( Bounds (Sawyer 1555) in S. E. Kelly Charters of Bath & Wells (2007) 147 To werbolde, xl mæra oððe an foþer gyrda, oððe viii geocu byld [perhaps read bylde], iii ebban tyne.

c1200 (?OE) Grave (1890) l. 1 Ðe wes bold ȝebyld, er þu iboren were.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxiv. 4 Moises..byldid anauter to þe lord, at þe rootis of þe hyll: & twelue tytlis: by twelue linagis of yrael.

a1425 (a1382) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) 3 Kings vii. 2 He bildide the hows of the wijld wode of Liban.

a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) l. 1252 A porche, bilt of square stonys.

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin iv. 63 To beilde feire howsynge.

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Britain i. 367 The roufe aloft ybuilt Of Geat.

1644 J. Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 75 A castle builded on a very steep cliff.

1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. Sept. (1965) I. 437 The Houses are tolerably well built.

1794 S. Williams Nat. & Civil Hist. Vermont 138 When the Indian builded his house.

1859 F. Nightingale Notes on Nursing ii. 15 Your house must be so built as that the outer air shall find its way..to every corner of it.

1883 Harper's Mag. Nov. 939/1 550 miles of railroad had been built.

1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1958) i. i. 12 A Ministry which wished to build a government factory on the site.

2002 P. Raines Simple Stonescaping (2003) iv. 35/1 Jon said that before they put up a fence he wanted to grade and terrace the yard and build a stone wall and pond.

2012 Guardian (Nexis) 25 Feb. 66 (headline) One architect managed to avoid the housing ladder altogether by designing and building his own home on the cheap.

b. transitive. To initiate or undertake the construction of (a city or other settlement); to found or establish.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1329 He wolde bulden [c1300 Otho makie] twa burh.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 57 He bulde [1480 Caxton bylded] Caunterbury þe chief citee of Kent.

a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) l. 187 Worthy Thebees..Bylt and begonne of olde antiquite.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. BBBiiii^v Jerico, Hay, & Gabaon, whiche the pagans buylded.

1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. iii. 104 The Lacedemonians..built a Town there.

1720 J. Strype Stow's Surv. of London (rev. ed.) I. i. i. 7/1 Nor is there any Reason to think the Romans built the City of London.

1873 Money Market (ed. 3) xii. 144 Finance companies..undertake to supply cash for the most gigantic undertakings, to make railways, tunnel under mountains, build cities, [etc.]

1959 Chambers's Encycl. VIII. 41/2 A new capital was built on the site of the present city of Kyoto.

2004 Independent 2 Jan. i. 7/1 His plans to build a village on the fringes of Britain's surfing capital..whipped up a storm of protest.

c. transitive. To construct or make (a vehicle, device, or other object) by putting parts or materials together. Later also: to produce or manufacture (something) on a large scale by doing this.In early use typically with a ship or other vessel as object; cf. shipbuilding n.

ΚΠ

1550 Langland's Vision of Pierce Plowman (new ed.) sig. ⚜.ii Accordynge to the example of them that builte Noes shippe, many of the preachers shall not be saued.

1651 Severall Proc. Parl. No. 123. 1910 A Vessell..built at Swansey.

1754 S. Foote Knights i. 4 A Coach of his Grandfather's, built in the Year One.

1852 tr. J. J. Seidel Organ & its Constr. 21 In 1576, an organ with..a back-choir was built at Bernan.

1860 All Year Round 15 Sept. 545 The taste of the day is for guns that are built, not cast.

1910 Washington Post 6 Nov. iii. 2/3 In 1910 this motor city built 100,000 automobiles.

1948 Proc. Symp. Large-scale Digital Calculating Machinery 1947 3 A..project undertaken by Harvard University to build a computer.

1976 A. Davis Television 47 Props departments that can build models of, say, spacecraft.

2020 Expert Rev. (Nexis) 28 Mar. Build your flatpack furniture faster with the best electric screwdrivers from £20.

a. intransitive. To construct or erect a building or buildings; to engage in building as an activity, project, etc. Later also: to make a vehicle, model, etc., by putting parts or materials together.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build [verb (intransitive)]

buildc1275

edifyc1400

?1316 Short Metrical Chron. (Royal) (2002) l. 163 To bulden he [sc. King Lud] heuede gode wate; At Londone he made a ȝate.

1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) v. xiv. f. cviii Yf thou..arte a maister werker..couthest thou bilde withouten mater.

1576 N. Bacon in A. H. Smith et al. Papers N. Bacon of Stiffkey (1979) I. 196 The masons tell me that building with calion, to bring up one pece after an other it w[ould] hardly be joyned without some daunger of cracck.

1664 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders (new ed.) ii. 104 All Owners..whether they Build or not.

1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 268 The Ground was let out to build on.

1848 L. Hunt Jar of Honey iii. 33 Building as if they were to live for ever.

1985 A. Blair Tea at Miss Cranston's xix, in Miss Cranston's Omnibus (1998) 161 Bairns building with Lego.

2001 Guardian 9 June (Weekend Suppl.) 86/1 This is the way to build, I thought: architecture without architects.

2022 Leicester Mercury (Nexis) 20 Apr. 12 North West Leicestershire District Council turned down a proposal last year to build on the same piece of land.

b. intransitive. In the progressive with passive meaning: to be under construction, to be in the process of being built. Now chiefly historical (esp. in the context of shipbuilding).

ΚΠ

1572 I. B. Let. to R. C. sig. F.ii^v He dothe minde at his first landing, to..builde there his store house and houses of prouision,..and in the meane time that it is building and raising, to lodge all his men in campe.

1699 J. Wallis Let. 24 Oct. in S. Pepys Diary & Corr. (1879) VI. 209 The old Channel..for diverting the Thames whilst London Bridge was building.

1753 J. Warburton Vallum Romanum 95 Most of them erected when Severus's wall was building.

1862 G. W. Thornbury Life J. M. W. Turner I. 199 Five drawings of the abbey, then building.

1935 Rotarian Aug. 13/2 A good matronly woman who showed people 'round the ark when it was building.

2014 B. Lavery Ship of Line (e-book ed.) The ship was building in Pembroke Dock, but was not completed until 1858 after being fitted with a steam engine.

a. transitive. Of a bird: to construct (a nest). Also of certain other animals, e.g. beavers: to construct (a lodge, dam, or other structure). Also intransitive.

ΘΠ

the world > animals > by habitat > inhabit [verb (intransitive)] > nest

nesteOE

buildc1275

nidify1656

nestlec1660

nidificate1814

nide1881

the world > animals > by habitat > inhabit [verb (transitive)] > build or provide with nest

innest1611

nestlec1660

nest1896

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. xii. ii. 603 Sche buldeþ hire nest in fulle hiȝe rooches.

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 509 Bryddeȝ busken to bylde, & bremlych syngen.

c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iii. l. 41 (MED) Þis brid be a bank bildith his nest.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iv. xiii. 3 Swallowes haue built In Cleopatra's Sailes their nests.

1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia 15 [Beavers] gnaw down trees to build with.

1789 G. White Let. in Nat. Hist. Selborne 109 A pair of honey-buzzards..built them a large shallow nest.

1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam cxiii. 178 The happy birds, that change their sky To build and brood.

1978 Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ont.) 1 Sept. 15/1 Autumn is busy beaver..feverishly building food rafts in front of newly chinked lodges. It is muskrats building push-ups from bulrush plants.

2019 Times 20 Aug. 48/5 A duck had built her nest and laid eggs in the nearby garden.

b. transitive. To arrange or pile the fuel for (a fire), typically implying also lighting it.to build a fire under: see fire n. and int. Phrases 2e.

1544 P. Betham tr. J. di Porcia Preceptes Warre i. sig. B.vii^v When the hoste of thyne enemyes is nere, good it is, to commaunde al the fewellers to buylde theyr fyres, the trompets blowe vp alarum, al the host to make an outcrye.

a1754 E. Tollet Poems Several Occasions (1755) 111 On sevenfold Heaps he had to build the Pyre.

1792 Mass. Mag. Dec. 758/2 A Mr Jabez Parsons..as building a fire in the house of Isaac Sheldon..and rolling a log on the fire, was unfortunately struck in his temples by the lever, which put a period to his existence.

1805 R. Southey Madoc ii. iv. 214 Fires are built before the tents.

1884 Harper's Mag. June 127/2 He often built his own fire.

1986 J. Urquhart Whirlpool (1990) 25 She rearranged them into a square formation, into what her husband called the log cabin method of building a fire.

2009 B. O'Donoghue Ben's Barbecue 1 I well remember going down to the beach on early-morning fishing expeditions with my friends, building a fire and throwing our fresh catch onto the coals.

c. transitive. To make (a cake, pie, etc.); used esp. with reference to its size or structure. Also simply (colloquial or regional): to cook, prepare (a dish or meal).

1839 Burton's Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 144 My dear mamma had built a cake about the size of a washing-tub.

1930 E. Ferber Cimarron xv. 232 They built angel-food cakes whose basis was the whites of thirteen eggs.

1947 P. Newton Wayleggo 118 The packie had built us a stew.

2020 Guardian (Nexis) 14 Jan. It's a cracking mould to build a pie in, because it's so easy to remove the finished article from, and it guarantees you a gorgeous, high-sided, deep-filled pie.

d. transitive. Esp. of a tailor: to make (clothing); to put together or fashion (a garment); also intransitive. Also: to make (shoes or boots).

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > tailor or make clothes [verb (transitive)]

shape?c1225

to make up1647

confection1839

build1840

tailor1856

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > tailor or make clothes [verb (intransitive)]

shape?c1225

tailor1662

build1897

1840 R. H. Barham Spectre of Tappington in Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 22 [The trousers] were cleverly ‘built’, of a light grey mixture.

1849 Lives Distinguished Shoemakers 245 Fellow-craftsmen in the trade of building shoes.

a1896 G. Du Maurier Martian (1897) 183 Is it still Skinner who builds for you?

1897 Globe 11 Mar. 3/4 A tailor would..have had his work cut out for him to build that..chubby creature a costume.

1978 Field & Stream Aug. 58/1 (advt.) We've had nearly 100 years' experience building boots to protect your feet in warmth and comfort.

2018 Guardian (Nexis) 17 Sept. I didn't know how to build a suit jacket, so I bought one and took it apart there and then.

e. transitive. Computing. To construct (a program); spec. to process (source code or a program) into a form that can be installed and used on a computer system.

1963 Simulation Syst. Programming Design Man. (U.S. Naval Training Device Center Techn. Rep. 1089-1) 69 We could build a program that automatically converts our language into binary and symbolic locations to absolute locations.

1989 Dr. Dobb's Jrnl. Sept. 60/3 (advt.) We take care to build the underlying POSIX kernel functionality or DOS and OS/2 into MKS software before moving utilities.

2005 Macworld (U.K. ed.) June 16/1 This will help video and image editors, and may encourage developers to build networkable applications.

2016 H. Lowood & R. Guins Debugging Game Hist. Contributors 433 A transdisciplinary, interinstitutional research group that studies, teaches with, and builds computer games.

4. transitive. figurative. To establish, develop, or construct (something abstract, such as a system of thought or belief, a reputation, a relationship, etc.), esp. incrementally or gradually.In early use typically with allusion to the notion of physical construction (see sense 1), which is weakened or absent in later use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > construct > gradually

buildc1440

c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale (Hengwrt) (1872) l. 1977 Al oure Couent To praye for yow is ay so diligent And for to buylden cristes owene chirche.

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xiii. 109 Meetres..builded with polysillables.

a1593 C. Marlowe Massacre at Paris (c1600) sig. D2 Who will helpe to builde Religion?

1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 20 in Justa Edouardo King He knew Himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Godiva in Poems (new ed.) II. 115 She..built herself an everlasting name.

1860 F. W. Farrar Ess. Origin Lang. i. 7 Building systems before they had collected facts.

1939 Fortune Oct. 11/1 (caption) A million-dollar business was built.

1973 Evaluating Federal Effort to control Drug Abuse (U.S. Congr. House Comm. Govt. Operations Special Stud. Subcomm.) iv. 971 Building the case to schedule a drug.

1986 F. G. Rodgers & R. L. Shook IBM Way vii. 148 It takes time and energy..to build a solid relationship with a customer.

2014 Guardian 31 Oct. 46/2 The Outer Hebrides are quietly building a reputation as a place where rare American vagrants [i.e. birds] regularly turn up.

a. transitive. Of God or another divine being: to create or make (the world, a person, an animal, etc.); to bring into being.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > construct

workOE

dighta1175

to set upc1275

graitha1300

formc1300

pitchc1330

compoundc1374

to put togethera1387

performc1395

bigc1400

elementc1400

complexion1413

erect1417

framea1450

edifya1464

compose1481

construe1490

to lay together1530

perstruct1547

to piece together1572

condite1578

conflate1583

compile1590

to put together1591

to set together1603

draw1604

build1605

fabric1623

complicate1624

composit1640

constitute1646

compaginate1648

upa1658

complex1659

construct1663

structurate1664

structure1664

confect1677

to put up1699

rig1754

effect1791

structuralize1913

?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 38 This..man whiche myn hand made and byldyd in blysse.

1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. vi. 192 Beasts which thou this day did'st build.

1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) cxxi. 1 The Lord that built the Earth and Skies Is my perpetual Aid.

1847 R. W. Emerson Goethe in Wks. (1906) I. 392 The old Eternal Genius who built the world.

2005 W. Marder Indians in Americas viii. 112 Their God..turned into a man and built the world through the power of his words.

(a) transitive (in passive). To have a physique or build of a specified type. Cf. build n. 3, built adj. 3.

1642 T. Fuller Holy State ii. v. 67 His body was strongly built for the naturall temper, and well repair'd by his temperate diet and recreations.

1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 54 Built as it were to make a good Boxer.

1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite iii, in Fables 69 Such Bodies built for Strength, of equal Age, In Stature siz'd.

1820 L. Hunt Indicator 5 Apr. 207 So built with muscle was his chest.

1864 R. D. Blackmore Clara Vaughan I. i. xv. 122 A man about fifty years old, of moderate stature, gauntly bodied, and loosely built.

1990 E. Harth Dawn of Millennium (1991) iii. 43 They were powerfully built, with sloping foreheads and protruding brow ridges.

(b) transitive (in passive). to be built like ——: to have a large or powerful physique or build, likened to that of an imposing or sturdy building, animal, etc.See also built like a brick shithouse at brick n.¹ and adj.¹ Phrases 5, built like a castle at castle n. 3g, built like a tank at tank n.⁷ Phrases.

1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles iv. xxii. 158 His stature, manly, bold, and tall, Built like a castle's battled wall.

1938 R. Wright Lawd Today! in Early Wks. (1991) ii. iii. 154 She was husky and built like a horse.

1986 R. Sproat Stunning the Punters 140 Alf's a tasty geezer in a bundle on account of being so fast and together and built like a rhino.

2015 A. Mulligan Liquidator 58 Big Jun, his bodyguard (who's built like a truck).

(c) transitive (in passive). colloquial (originally U.S.). With complement. To be temperamentally or psychologically disposed or inclined; to be of a specified character. Usually in negative contexts.

ΚΠ

1876 W. M. Baker Carter Quarterman xv. 97/2 Colonel Tom..says he wasn't built to be a shepherd over sheep.

1888 Missouri Republican 25 Jan. 6/5 ‘Why didn't you roll down?’ ‘I wasn't built that way.’

1909 O. S. Wood in Business Admin. 369 All minds are not built for high-level thinking. Advertising must be simple.

1912 A. Bennett Matador of Five Towns & Other Stories 75 I'm not built the same way myself.

1999 Campaign (Nexis) 19 Mar. Film is a mixture of high-minded ideas and practical production problems... I thought I was built for it.

2009 D. O'Briain Tickling Eng. vi. 77 An English crowd isn't built to accept good news like that.

c. transitive. To compose or form (an organism, molecule, etc.); to cause (a natural or organic structure) to form, develop, or grow. Cf. earlier to build up 5a at Phrasal verbs 1.

1821 C. Mackenzie One Thousand Exper. in Chem. viii. 181 The crystal, in short, is, as it were, built of isomorphous molecules without any chemical affinity having a share in it, and without our being able to perceive fixed and determinate proportions.

1846 Farmer's Mag. Oct. 559/1 The milk..contains every substance of which the body is built.

1873 Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 166 Their [sc. plants] food must be decomposed in order to create the organic matter out of which all organisms are built.

1921 W. D. Harkins in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 42 309 Any complex atom has a mass and weight 0·76 per cent. less than the hydrogen atoms (neutrons) from which it may be assumed to be built.

1993 UCSD Perspectives 6 9/2 Two other peroxisomal enzymes..help build molecules called alkyl ether phospholipids that scavenge the cell for harmful chemicals.

2007 G. Kroening Everything Kids' Snakes, Lizards, & Other Scaly Creatures Bk. 14 While some proteins help build strong muscles.., keratin builds other handy body parts: claws, fingernails, fur, feathers, hair, horns, skin, and scales.

a. transitive. To make (a feeling, mood, quality, etc.) stronger or more intense; to cause to increase.

1901 Sunday Times Globe Jrnl. (Dubuque, Iowa) 17 Nov. (Morning ed.) 8/4 It should be the business of all citizenship to cultivate, fortify, and build this loyalty to the home.

1971 B. Sidran Black Talk (1995) v. 139 Bassist Wilbur Ware..superimposed chord substitutions, building the tension so that when he came back to the basics of the tune, it felt ‘like everything sucked in’.

2009 N.Y. Mag. 21 Sept. 58/1 Trying to build interest and excitement any way they can.

b. intransitive. Of a feeling, mood, quality, etc.: to become stronger or more intense; to increase.

1964 J. D. MacDonald Purple Place for Dying v. 72 I could feel a terrible tension building in her.

1974 W. Oakley Rumpelstiltskin 5 (stage direct.) The noise builds, there is a black-out, and when the lights come up Rumpelstiltkin has appeared on top of box.

1998 Cruising World Oct. 70/1 Despite the mal de mer, the excitement builds with each passing swell.

2013 S. Andrews Path of Emotions (e-book ed.) When an emotion is felt but not listened to, the energy builds internally and causes agitation.

†II. To live in a place, to dwell.

7. intransitive. To live in a particular place; to take up one's abode, to dwell (also figurative). Also: to arise or appear in a particular place. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > [verb (intransitive)] > establish residence

wickc897

telda1325

buildc1340

nestlea1382

to take (up) one's inn (or inns)a1400

to hold (also keep, make, take, etc.) one's mansiona1425

to take one's lodgec1475

reside1490

inhabit1548

to settle one's rest1562

to sit down1579

to set up (or in) one's staff (of rest)1584

to set (up) one's rest1590

nest1591

to set down one's rest1591

roost1593

inherit1600

habituate1603

seat1612

to take up (one's) residencea1626

settle1627

pitch1629

fix1638

locate1652

to marry and settle1718

domesticate1768

domiciliate1815

to hang up one's hat1826

domicile1831

to stick one's stakes1872

homestead1877

to put down roots1882

to hang one's hat1904

localize1930

the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > originate, derive, or arise [verb (intransitive)]

arisec950

syeOE

comeOE

riselOE

springc1175

buildc1340

derivec1386

sourdc1386

proceedc1390

becomea1400

to be descended (from, of)1399

bursta1400

to take roota1400

resolve?c1400

sourdre14..

springc1405

descenda1413

sprayc1425

well?a1475

depart1477

issue1481

provene1505

surmount1522

sprout1567

accrue?1576

source1599

dimane1610

move1615

drill1638

emane1656

emanate1756

originate1758

to hail from1841

deduce1866

inherita1890

stem1932

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14808 Sone uolc gadere[de] to Austin þan gode..and bi-gunnen þer to bulden bi þan watere.

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 25 Of alle þat here bult of Bretaygne kynges Ay watȝ Arthur þe hendest.

a1500 in Englische Studien (1890) 14 402 Þe holy goste will in the byldon.

1543 ( Chron. J. Hardyng (1812) 98 Galerius had the este there into bylde.

a1592 R. Greene Comicall Hist. Alphonsus (1599) iv. sig. G1 A blister build upon that traitors tongue!

III. To make or promote religious or spiritual progress. Cf. the similar semantic development at edify v.

8. intransitive. To become stronger in faith or virtue; to promote religious or spiritual development. Also (esp. in later use): to advance (esp. gradually or incrementally) to or toward(s) a particular spiritual reward or punishment (typically heaven or hell). Cf. edify v. 3. In later use usually influenced by sense 2a.Cf. also to build up 3 at Phrasal verbs 1. [In to build towards hell (see quots. c1443, 1980) after post-classical Latin omne, quod contra conscientiam fit, edificat ad gehennam everything that is done against conscience builds towards hell (12th cent. in Gratian Decretum 28. 1. 4).]

c1300 St. Mary Magdalen (Laud) l. 306 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 471 Huy leten heore vuele dedes..And aftur godes dedes huy wrouȝhten a[nd] gonne buylde.

c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 166 As holy writt seiþ, ‘who euer dooþ aȝens his conscience, he bildiþ to helward.’

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xx. 32 I commende you to God and to the worde of his grace which is able to bylde further [1611 to build you vp].

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Kvi That..they may meryt & buylde to their crowne in heuen.

1674 J. Goodman Serious Inq. Neglect Protestant Relig. sig. B3^v Then all the Professors of Christianity had one heart and one lip, and then they built towards Heaven in a good sense.

1883 Bangor (Maine) Daily Whig & Courier 19 Dec. The more we reflect upon and discuss great moral questions, the higher we build toward Heaven.

1980 D. J. Rose in R. L. Shinn Faith & Sci. in Unjust World xiii. 252 The nature of man himself who, being given free will, can choose to build towards heaven or towards hell.

Phrases

P1. to be built for comfort, not for speed and variants.

a. Of a thing (originally and esp. a boat or other vehicle): to be designed and constructed so as to be comfortable rather than fast. Later also in extended use: to offer security or reliability but lack excitement or efficiency.

1868 N.Y. Herald 12 May 4/4 She is a first rate sea boat, and being built more for comfort than speed has capital accommodations on board.

1905 Motor Way 28 Sept. 41 (advt.) Rambler [motor car]... Occupants thoroughly protected from storms by full canopy top... Built for comfort—not for speed.

1917 Dial 11 Oct. 334/1 Democratic governments learn only by trial and error... Democracies are built for comfort, not for speed.

2011 R. Barton Cycling Bible (2015) i. 30/1 Touring bikes are built for comfort not speed. Their frames are often made from steel... Steel..[has] a bit more ‘give’, making for a less boneshaking ride over unmade roads.

2019 Sc. Daily Mail (Nexis) 16 Feb. 108 The shares already have some high expectations... it's a solid, well-run business. It's more of a Mondeo than a Maserati, but some stocks are built for comfort, not speed.

b. Of a person: to prefer or be more suited to comfort and ease rather than exercise, excitement, or a challenge; (sometimes euphemistically) overweight, fat.

1911 San Francisco Examiner 6 Feb. 7/3 She was built for comfort, not speed, he tells you. She is so large that the only thing she can get ready-made is a handkerchief.

1934 Washington Post 28 Apr. 9/1 He is headed for a ‘realm of cooperative plenty’. Hot dog..! If it were not for the fact that I am built for comfort instead of speed I would have joined him.

1960 W. Dixon Built for Comfort (sheet music) Don't call me fat Cause I'm built for comfort I ain't built for speed.

2022 Toronto Sun (Web ed.) (Nexis) 19 Jan. When I was a teenage girl with a ‘sturdy’ body type, my father..often remarked that I was, ‘built for comfort, not for speed’... To all dads of teenage girls, please, be sparing with those ‘light teasing’ remarks.

P2. to build bridges: to facilitate communication or reconciliation; to encourage or bring about friendly relations between different or opposing groups. Frequently with between, to. Cf. bridge-building n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > bring to peace (strife or discord) [verb (transitive)] > reconcile (people)

seema1000

saughtc1000

saughtela1122

accordlOE

i-sehtnec1175

saughtenc1175

to bring, make, set at onec1300

peasec1300

reconcilec1390

corda1400

pacifyc1500

agree1530

reconciliate1539

gree1570

atone1597

compose1597

even1620

to build bridges1886

society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > bring to peace (strife or discord) [verb (transitive)] > mediate between

to go between ——lOE

mean1440

mediate1538

to build bridges1886

1875 Glasgow Herald 8 Apr. 7/1 He thought they should give encouragement to all that tended to broaden—to build bridges rather than to raise walls.

1886 G. P. Fisher Catholicity, True & False 24 To soften the asperities of intellectual strife, and to build bridges between discordant sections of the Christian family.

1907 Times 10 Oct. 3/3 Undeterred by the failure of previous efforts to build bridges for the opponents of obligatory arbitration.

1969 Life 11 Apr. 36/1 The U.S. has tried to ‘build bridges’ to the U.S.S.R., while too often appearing determined to burn all Western bridges to China.

2002 Time Out N.Y. 31 Oct. 6/1 One of the primary goals is to build bridges between the GLBT and Poly communities.

P3. Originally U.S. Followed by an infinitive or to and a noun, forming adjectival phrases designating or relating to something (esp. a house, building, etc.) made or constructed in accordance with that which is specified by the verb or noun, as in build-to-order, build-to-sell, build-to-suit, build-to-specification, etc. Cf. built adj. Phrases.

1911 Ohio Architect, Engineer & Builder Jan. 72/2 He is often hampered by..the allotment man whose ‘build to sell’..policy has no regard for any one but himself.

1950 Daily Independent Jrnl. (San Rafael, Calif.) 20 May 8/2 (advt.) Ideal settings for build-to-order homes among stately laurels and mammoth oaks.

1968 Philadelphia Inquirer 22 Aug. 45/3 Several locations available on a build to suit basis.

2018 FD Wire (Nexis) 2 May [These capabilities] will enhance..[their] ability to provide build-to-specification products.

P4. to be built on sand: see sand n.² 2b. Rome was not built in a day: see Rome n. Phrases 1b.

Phrasal verbs

PV1. With adverbs in specialized senses. to build down

1. transitive. To reduce (something, esp. a group or set) in size or quantity gradually or systematically.With quot. 1983 cf. build-down n.

ΘΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] > reduce gradually

to wane away1601

wear1697

wean1707

whittle1736

to tail off (out)1827

to ease off1884

to taper off (away, down)1898

to run down1960

to wind down1969

1872 Missouri Dental Jrnl. Aug. 315 I..then proceeded to build down the tooth a little more than its former size and length.

1983 USA Today 4 Oct. 1 President Reagan will announce today that he'll offer to ‘build-down’ the USA's nuclear weapons when deadlocked strategic arms talks with the Soviets resume.

1992 New Republic 27 Apr. 12/1 He wants to build down U.S. forces at a moderate pace, and he does not want Congress forcing him to go faster.

2017 M-brain Norway News (Nexis) 10 Jan. 6 The need to build down the stocks of cheese made it necessary to reduce milk production, and as a market regulator, Tine asked for the milk quota for cow milk to be reduced by 2%.

2. intransitive. U.S. Cards. Esp. in games of patience: to place a card on one of the next highest denomination, e.g. a five on a six. Cf. to build up 7 at Phrasal verbs 1.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > play at cards [verb (intransitive)] > actions or tactics

pass1599

pluck1606

pulla1625

to play high1640

to follow suit1643

to play at forsat1674

lead1677

overdrawc1805

stand1813

retract1823

underplay1850

to hold up1879

to throw in one's hand1893

build1901

build-down1983

1894 Outlook 20 Oct. 629/1 Upon the intervening spaces, the cards being arranged in a square of nine, build down.

1901 Munsey's Mag. Mar. 871/2 To build down..is to place a card upon one of the next higher denomination... To build up..is to do just the opposite—that is, to place an eight on a seven.

2019 P. Anthony Zombie Lover (e-book ed.) You can build down from any card in the tableau, like putting that red four on that black five.

to build in

transitive. Originally: to enclose (something) by building. Hence: to incorporate as an integral part of a building or other structure; (figurative) to make (something) an inherent, integral, or permanent characteristic or element of something else.Chiefly as past participle; cf. built-in adj.

ΘΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > be (part of) [verb (transitive)] > be the or a component(s) of > introduce as a component part

ingredience1650

in-build1856

1845 Law Jrnl. Rep. 14 ii. Court Exchequer Pleas 174/1 The boilers of the engine were..built in and surrounded by flues of brickwork.

1933 Telegr. & Teleph. Jrnl. 19 151/1 In New York telephones are ‘built-in’ and when you become a tenant..you 'phone as often as you like.

1965 Listener 4 Nov. 687/1 The legacy of those years has been built in to the domestic and foreign policies of both countries.

2004 Independent (Compact ed.) 20 Apr. (Review section) 13/1 Prototype hospitals whose obsolescence was built in.

2022 Newstex Blogs (Nexis) 8 Apr. The king-sized bed is built-in and custom-made to accommodate the wooden truss behind it.

to build out

a. transitive. To enlarge or expand (a settlement, etc.) by building; (also) to construct (an architectural feature) so that it protrudes or extends from a wall, etc.

ΘΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)] > build outwards

jetty1438

jet1632

outbuild1847

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Macc. x. 45 For to bilde out the wallis of Jerusalem; and for to make stronge in cumpas, spensis shuln be ȝouen of the kyngus resoun.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Trompe, a closet, or such a like roome, built out of a wall with a hanging bottome.

1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee xi, in Tales Fashionable Life II. 178 A little skreen of white-washed wall, built out into the room, for the purpose of keeping those who sat at the fire from the blast of the door.

1852 N.-Y. Daily Times 16 Oct. 3/4 These columns..were built with such rapidity that the iron caps were put on, and the architrave built out, before the mortar had become dry and firm.

1993 Collins Compl. DIY Man. (new ed.) iii. 214/2 A bay window is a combination of window frames built out from the face of the building.

2012 B. K. Parent Journey's Middle lxix. 458 They built the town out from the harbor in a horseshoe shape.

b. transitive. figurative. To construct or develop (a system of thought, a belief, etc.) from a particular starting point or around a certain concept.

1849 Amer. Rev. Jan. 73/2 The Idealists..begin with the consciousness of existence, and from that point build out a system of thought which shall explain the universe.

1902 W. James Varieties Relig. Experience xx. 514 We..build out our religion in the way most congruous with our personal susceptibilities.

1972 W. Morris Toward New Historicism x. 187 It is in response to the apparent dead end of new critical organic theory that he wants to build out a new historicism.

2018 M. K. Gugerty & D. Karlan Goldilocks Challenge (e-book ed.) iii In an ideal world, organizations..would map backward to identify strategies to address that challenge,..and then build out a theory of change before implementing their program.

2. transitive. To obstruct or block (a view, light, etc.) by building; (also) to exclude or eliminate by building.

1830 Edinb. Lit. Jrnl. 5 June 328/2 An army of bricklayers is summoned, who raise the wall, and build out the Prince's view.

1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son lvii. No gracious ray of light is seen to fall on Florence, kneeling at the altar with her timid head bowed down. The Morning luminary is built out, and don't shine there.

1853 C. Brontë Villette I. xii. 205 The ghost must have been built out some ages ago, for there were houses all round now.

2013 Advertiser (Austral.) (Nexis) 9 Oct. It's impossible to build out the view and you'll always have that view over the bay to Boston Island.

a. transitive. To use up all available building space in (a place). Cf. buildout n. 1a.

1946 Cumberland Argus & Fruitgrowers' Advocate (Parramatta, New S. Wales) 30 Oct. 5/1 It would be a pity if this land was built out, as the people down there have had a wonderful playing area for years.

1992 Chicago Tribune 22 Nov. xvi. 1/6 The suburbs are about built out. This is the future of shopping center development.

2017 Courier Mail (Nexis) 6 May (Commercial Property section) 62 It's set to go from what was an undeveloped area two years ago to being totally built out over the next five to seven years.

b. transitive. To complete (a manufacturing project); to produce or deliver (products, esp. vehicles) after completion of such a project. Cf. buildout n. 1b.

1954 N.Y. Times 6 Aug. 24/3 During the third quarter we will build out our 1954 models, take our annual inventory and change over our plans to make ready for our new model production.

2021 Yourstory.in (Nexis) 3 Dec. Technology to build out the line of electric scooters.

c. transitive. To expand (an aspect of a business); to meet or fulfil the potential or capacity of (a commercial activity or sector).

1989 Financial Times 8 June (Survey section) p. iii/5 That makes a US location attractive because it offers the opportunity for building out their customer base by seeking US OEM (original equipment manufacturer) business.

1993 Science 24 Sept. 1788/2 We're going full speed ahead to build out our current capabilities and expand in certain areas.

2011 Wall St. Jrnl. 12 Sept. r2/3 Leaders should..unleash the entrepreneurial energies of our metropolitan engines to build out the clean economy.

to build up

1. transitive. To undertake the building of (a city or other settlement); to construct, put up (a building or other structure); = main senses 1a, 1b. Later also more specifically: to construct (a new or improved building or structure) after demolition or a period of deterioration; to rebuild. Also intransitive.In quot. 1841 intransitive in the progressive with passive meaning (cf. sense 2b).

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)]

timbera900

workOE

betimberOE

craftOE

buildc1275

lifta1300

stagec1330

upraise1338

wright1338

edifya1340

to make outa1382

to make upa1382

biga1400

housea1400

risea1400

telda1400–50

to work upa1450

redress1481

levy1495

upmake1507

upbuild1513

exstruct?c1550

construct1663

to run up1686

practise1739

to lay up1788

elevate1798

to put up1818

to lay down1851

practicate1851

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 1537 Þe king..let bulde vp grete tounes, þat were ney adoun ivalle.

1490 W. Caxton tr. Boke yf Eneydos lxv. sig. Lvi^v And of thys cyte ben many in doubte who buylde it vppe.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 26 He..byld vp a bygge towne of þe bare vrthe.

1611 Bible (King James) 2 Chron. xxxii. 5 Hezekiah built up the wall that was broken.

1676 in D. W. Prowse Hist. Newfoundland (1895) viii. 205/2 Capt. Russell forc'd several Masters of shipps..to build up again their trayne houses, themselves had cut down contrary to their order.

1808 Times 22 Sept. Government are expending..great sums in pulling down and building up.

1841 G. Catlin Lett. N. Amer. Indians II. xlvi. 95 A very pretty little town, building up.

1936 A. Gatti Great Mother Forest vii. 87 Every place where there are hotels.., we are doing our best to improve them. Where they cannot be afforded yet, we build up rest-houses.

2004 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 4 Apr. a1 We were planning a couple of years ago to buy some lot, build up a house.

2. figurative.

a. transitive. To establish, construct, or develop (something) incrementally or gradually. Also: to intensify or increase gradually or to a high level.With quots. 1529, 1567 cf. to build upon —— 1 at Phrasal verbs 2. In early use often with allusion to the notion of physical construction (see sense 1).

ΘΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (transitive)] > increase temperature, volume, etc.

to build up1936

to turn up1962

1529 T. More Supplyc. Soulys ii. f. xxix Men abydyng vppon criste & hys very lyuely fayth bylde vp theruppon such good workys as are so good & so pure y^t they be lyke fyne gold.

1567 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. ii. 198 Upon these fewe woordes, M. Hardinge is hable to builde vp his Dimi Communion, his Priuate Masse.

1647 H. Parker Cordiall Answered sig. A 2^v That lawyer..ought to roote himself deeper, before he begins to build up his argument.

1726 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 269 I rejoice that the Lord is building up your family.

1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion iv. 197 So build we up the Being that we are.

1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. iii. 62 His fortunes were built up.

1892 Engineer 22 Jan. 65/3 In a few seconds the field is built up to its maximum strength.

1935 Mod. Philol. 33 34 Seneca's ghosts present a series of terrible images for the single end of building up the horror.

1940 Illustr. London News 196 188/2 A theatre which has built up a reputation as a repertory with a first-rate team.

1994 Film Focus Dec. 55/3 Tarantino's script and Scott's direction build up the tension to such a degree that you're almost aching for the pay-off.

2015 Radio Times 20 June (South/West ed.) 95/3 Alicia struggles to build up a new legal business.

(a) intransitive. To develop, grow, or form gradually or incrementally; (also) to become stronger or more intense; to increase.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (intransitive)] > in intensity or degree

waxc897

reforce1490

rise1594

fortify1605

strengthena1616

harden1625

intend1655

thicken1672

exasperate1742

intensify1853

thick1879

to hot up1922

to build up1936

1681 Bp. G. Burnet Serm. preached on Fast-day 39 A superstitious and bloody Princess, who..corrupted the great Men, and the Publick Councils of the Kingdom; so that all that had been building up in twenty five years, was overthrown.

1883 R. Bunn King Henry V 13 That character grows and develops, builds up, from a suitable and proper foundation.

1884 N. S. Keith & P. Neymann tr. H. Schellen Magneto-electric & Dynamo-electric Machines I. iii. 118 The magnetism builds up, in spite of the intermittent character of the currents.

1936 Discovery July 222/2 The sound builds up from silence to strength.

1956 A. L. Rowse Early Churchills ii. 22 Such was the spirit that was building up on either side in this deplorable war.

1968 Listener 5 Dec. 774/2 A further tension builds up between the desire to create space and the desire to fill it.

2014 Observer 23 Mar. 46/3 A large debt has built up as a result.

(b) intransitive. With to. Of a sequence of events, performance, etc.: to lead up to a climactic or exciting point with increasing intensity. Of a person or group: to prepare gradually for a significant action or event; to work up to doing something. Cf. build-up n. 2b.

1876 St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat 18 Apr. 4/3 The second act is much better, the comic element introduced into it adding to its interest, and the third act builds up to a climax, both musical and dramatic.

1932 Alpha Phi Q. Sept. 396/2 It is all building up to those wonderful three days in September which are Washburn's rush week.

1942 R. Haig-Brown Timber (1993) xxiii. 345 You acted kind of simple, calling a meeting cold that way. You should have built up to it gradual with meetings on the quiet.

2004 Independent 21 June (Review section) 4/1 Now that he'd started, he could not stop. He was either building up to a big confession or having me on.

2006 New Yorker 11 Dec. 94/3 The documentary verisimilitude also allowed scenes to peter out with a blank look or a sigh rather than build up to the American joke-joke-joke crescendo.

c. transitive. Originally U.S. To create or develop a positive public image for (a person); to bolster the reputation of, to promote.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > gain credit by [verb (transitive)] > establish or enhance a person's reputation

to build up1935

1839 Columbus (Georgia) Sentinel & Herald 3 Oct. 2/3 It is not, nor has it been our purpose, by slander and detraction, to pull down Mr. Smith that we may build up our candidate, Col. Lewis.

1935 S. Lewis It can't happen Here ix. 88 Sarason had, as it was scientifically called, been ‘building up’ Senator Windrip for seven years before his nomination as President.

1944 A. Jacob Traveller's War xii. 213 He set out to build himself up in the eyes of an army that had tasted defeat.

2015 Swimming Times Apr. 78/1 The British press..were waiting for me to fail. In this country we are fantastic at building up our athletes or film stars or whoever—but building them up and building them up and waiting until something goes wrong and then we pull their wings off.

3. transitive. To strengthen (a person, a soul, etc.) in faith or virtue; to be of spiritual benefit to; = edify v. 3a. Cf. main sense 8.

ΘΠ

society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > be or cause to be spiritual [verb (transitive)] > instruct or improve

bindc975

confirma1300

enhancec1325

edify1340

exhancea1450

enlightena1500

build1526

mounta1546

spiritualize1596

sanctify1597

1532 T. More Confut. Tyndales Answere i. p. xxxv Yt wyll be great besynes and mych a do to edyfye and buyld vp the soules of such a sorte, which the deuyll hathe by the blaste of his mouth throwen downe so depe and frusshed all to fytters.

1611 Bible (King James) Acts xx. 32 I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you vp, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

a1633 W. Ames Substance Christian Relig. (1659) xxxi. 197 This servantship or Ministry is a moral meanes of building up and confirming the faithfull.

1710 J. Norris Treat. Christian Prudence v. 202 To build up men in Faith and Holiness of Life, that which we properly mean by Edification.

1853 Edinb. Christian Mag. 4 327/2 Family worship..builds up in the faith, and refreshes the spirit of those who are well-informed.

2015 R. Graham & M. L. Graham Raising God's Girl (e-book ed.) I know that my parent's correction is meant to build me up in Christ, not tear me down.

4. transitive. With into. To assemble or put together (parts or materials) in order to construct something; to work up or make (raw materials or a basic component) into a finished form or product. Cf. to build into —— 1 at Phrasal verbs 2.In quot. a1626 in figurative context.

a1626 A. Lake Serm. St. Maries Oxf. 127 in Sermons (1629) Know you not (saith he) that your bodyes are the Temples of the Holy Ghost? So that no question can be made of either part of our person, both are liuing stones, and built vp into a Spirituall House.

1758 W. Borlase Nat. Hist. Cornwall viii. 88 We make all our corn into arrish-mows, the sheaves being built up into a regular, solid cone.

1851 Knight's Excursion Compan. ix. 9 The immensely long pieces of timber destined to be built up into the form of a mast.

1982 JET Joint Undertaking (ECSC/EEC/EURATOM) 8 The eight inner poloidal field coils were built up into a stack.

2013 Financial Times 13 Apr. (Weekend Suppl.) 48/3 I was back in the studio with Marr, to lacquer the frame and build it up into a complete bicycle.

a. transitive. To compose or form (a natural structure or organism); to cause (such a structure) to develop or grow. Cf. sense 5c.

1697 ‘Philaret’ Challenge iii. 29 That which is Redundant, or Deficient, is said to be Monstrous or deform'd, not that 'tis so in it self, but in respect of its deviation from the common Standard, that nature proposes to its self to build up the Body of Man in.

1843 J. A. Smith Product. Farming 137 Hence the reason why bodies can be nourished and built up upon food comparatively poor in nitrogen.

1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. §1. 2 An amethyst is a crystal built up from particles of silica.

1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxxi. 550 His theory that atoms are built up of electrons arranged in shells around a central nucleus.

2022 Daily Monitor (Nexis) 21 Mar. Stretching builds up muscle, increases flexibility, and promotes circulation.

b. intransitive. Of a substance, deposit, etc.: to accumulate, collect; to increase in amount or extent.

1863 Notes & Queries 19 Dec. (end matter) (advt.) Holloway's Ointment..builds up from the bottom of the wound with sound and healthy granulations.

1895 Proc. 4th Ann. Meeting Amer. Internat. Assoc. Railway Superintendents 62 Thick paints..should be avoided, as they scale up from the iron, and rust underneath builds up.

1910 S. G. Camp Fishing Kits & Equipm. v. 59 See that the spool is narrow so that, when reeling in, the line will build up on the reel rapidly.

1991 S. Gibson & R. Gibson Homoeopathy for Everyone (new ed.) viii. 120 These chemicals tend to build up in the soil and are absorbed by our food plants.

2022 Newstex Blogs (Nexis) 11 Apr. Vacuuming frequently on areas that receive more footfall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor.

6. transitive. To obstruct or block (a doorway, window, etc.) by building.Cf. to board up at board v. 7a, to brick up 2 at brick v. Phrasal verbs.

1700 Flying Post 19 Sept. Our Magistrates have built up the Gate on the North-side of the City, called, The New Port.

1850 Amer. Whig. Rev. Dec. 646/2 Individual Irish families have built up the doors and windows of their houses, converted them into overground vaults, and died therein of want and cold.

2015 Notes & Rec. Royal Soc. 69 123 Orders were given for the ‘iron stenchers’ to be removed from the windows of the lower storey and the windows built up with stone and lime.

7. intransitive. U.S. Cards. Esp. in games of patience: to place a card on one of the next lowest denomination, e.g. a six on a five. Cf. to build down 2 at Phrasal verbs 1.

ΘΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > play at cards [verb (intransitive)] > actions or tactics

pass1599

pluck1606

pulla1625

to play high1640

to follow suit1643

to play at forsat1674

lead1677

overdrawc1805

stand1813

retract1823

underplay1850

to hold up1879

to throw in one's hand1893

build1901

build-down1983

1868 W. B. Dick Mod. Pocket Hoyle 179 When a player cannot, or does not choose to pair, combine, or build up, he must place a card upon the board face upwards.

1901 Munsey's Mag. Mar. 871/2 To build down..is to place a card upon one of the next higher denomination... To build up..is to do just the opposite—that is, to place an eight on a seven.

2004 F. Parodi Big Bk. Solitaire 184 Build up on the Ace regardless of suit, placing another Ace on top after you reach the King.

PV2. With prepositions in specialized senses. to build into ——

1. transitive. To work up or make (raw materials or a basic component) into (a finished form or product); to assemble or put together (parts or materials) in order to construct (something). Also figurative. Cf. to build up 4 at Phrasal verbs 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > fashion, shape, or form > work up

edify1382

builda1425

to erect into1670

manufacture1683

society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)] > build or construct by fitting parts together

reareOE

raisec1175

build1884

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Gen. ii. 22 The Lord God bildide the rib..in to a womman.

1629 T. Hobbes tr. Thucydides Eight Bks. Peloponnesian Warre iii. 155 That sixteene foot of space which was betwixt them [sc. walls], was disposed and built into Cabines for the Watchmen.

1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World i. 109 A great heavy Boat, which..seem'd to have been a large Ship's long Boat, built into a Kind of Yatch.

1884 Manch. Examiner 18 Sept. 4/6 He collects the spoils of many sessions..like a skilful architect, builds them into a fair and seemly edifice.

1925 E. Sitwell Poetry & Crit. 23 Miss Stein..breaks down the predestined groups of words..and builds them into new and vital shapes.

2006 R. A. W. Rhodes et al. Oxf. Handbk. Polit. Inst. xix. 367 When Moses organized the tribes of Israel for their departure from Pharaoh's rule, he organized them into a simple bureaucracy as he sought to build them into a new nation.

a. transitive. To incorporate (something) as an integral part or component of (a structure, manufactured object, etc.).

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. v. 133 The Roof of it is flat, consisting of Nine Stones,..the other two at each end, appear not to be above two Foot broad a piece, but the reason is because the other half of them is built into the Wall.

1808 W. Scott Marmion Notes p. lxxvi The Hare Stane, a high stone, now built into the wall, on the left hand of the high way leading towards Braid.

1879 Spons' Encycl. Manuf. I. 290 The hopper..is built into the arch.

1956 A. H. Compton Atomic Quest 326 Better control of the amount of rubber that is built into tires.

2022 Spy (Nexis) 26 Apr. The interior storage space is large and there's a child safety hinge built into the lid to keep it from slamming shut.

b. transitive. figurative. To make (something) an inherent, integral, or permanent characteristic or element of (something else).

1854 Fife Herald 1 June Great iniquity must be built into the present system.

1874 Fortn. Rev. Dec. 730 By that process of Natural Selection all the actions of our ancestors are built into us and form our character.

1954 Milbank Memorial Fund Q. 32 388 Two types of data loss are built into this present analysis.

1996 M. D. Russell Sparrow xv. 140 They were all being cross-trained, to build redundancy into the final crew of eight.

2019 Oxf. Mail (Nexis) 21 Sept. A reduction in cars on our roads will create a better environment for people to be able to build physical activity into their daily lives.

to build on ——

1. transitive. To found or develop (something abstract, such as a system of thought or belief, an argument, a reputation, etc.) on (a basis); to base or ground (something) on.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > initiating or causing to begin > initiate [verb (transitive)] > found or establish > in or on something

to stand on ——eOE

fastc1275

found1390

to stand upon ——a1393

build1528

relya1633

found1667

base1776

premise1881

1562 J. Veron Stronge Battery Inuoc. Saintes f. 58^v It was the Lordes Instytution, buylded on his woorde, and thorough faythe obeyed of the Hebrewes.

1658 R. Allestree Pract. Christian Graces; or, Whole Duty of Man x. §1. 206 I shall..build all the particular duties..on those two general ones.

1689 J. Locke Two Treat. Govt. i. ix. 87 Sovereignty built on ‘property’..comes to nothing.

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 253. ¶4 The Fame that is built on Candour and Ingenuity.

1781 J. Moore View Soc. Italy (1790) I. vii. 70 The independence of Venice was not built on usurpation.

1837 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (ed. 3) I. vi. 90 A Christian's faith and obedience is built on all this.

1987 Wall St. Jrnl. 4 June 16 (advt.) Our reputation has been built on solid repeat business.

2020 Malay Mail (Nexis) 30 Apr. He builds his argument on fake news and videos posted by cyber troopers on social media.

2. intransitive. To use (something) as a basis for a belief, argument, etc., or for further development. Also (esp. in early use): to rely on, have confidence in (cf. to build upon —— 2 at Phrasal verbs 2).Sometimes with allusion to the notion of physical construction (see sense 2a), esp. in early use.

1563 Bp. J. Pilkington Burnynge of Paules Church sig. H.iii^v Because we say and proue oure faithe and relygion to bee the best and auncienst, we bylde not on counsels as they doe, but on Goddds [sic] worde, which is aboue the counsel.

1594 T. Lodge Wounds Ciuill War iii. i. sig. D3^v The trustfull man that builds on trothles vowes.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 (1623) i. iii. 89 An habitation giddy, and vnsure Hath he that buildeth on the vulgar heart.

1756 Satirical Rev. Manifold Falshoods conc. Earthquake 84 The raw unprovable Hypotheses, which certain modern reasoners build on.

1816 Eclectic Rev. Jan. 27 An attempt to build on other foundations than these, we cannot but apprehend would be weakening the evidence of truth.

1983 Sci. Amer. Feb. 41/1 One then builds on the result of the classical calculation by correcting it for quantum-mechanical fluctuations.

2005 Dunoon Observer & Argyllshire Standard 15 July 2/1 Work goes on apace to build on what was a very successful 2004 event.

to build upon ——

1. transitive. To found or develop (something abstract, such as a system of thought or belief, an argument, a reputation, etc.) on (a basis); to base or ground (something) upon; = to build on —— 1 at Phrasal verbs 2.

ΘΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > initiating or causing to begin > initiate [verb (transitive)] > found or establish > in or on something

to stand on ——eOE

fastc1275

found1390

to stand upon ——a1393

build1528

relya1633

found1667

base1776

premise1881

?1527 tr. Copy of Lett. wherin Kyng Henry VIII made Answere vnto M. Luther sig. C.iiii For what charite bylde you vpon fayth, whan ye teche that faythe alone without good workes suffyseth.

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. vii. 25 Our advanced beliefs are not to be built upon dictates.

1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 28 The Theory..is built wholly upon a false supposition.

1766 T. Leland Let. 9 Jan. in Earl Fitzwilliam & R. Bourke Corr. Edmund Burke (1844) I. 95 You will not, I am certain, build your reputation there, upon a single, studied, manufactured piece of eloquence.

1828 Missionary Reg. July 330/1 A part of this pride of family is built upon its having remained, in all its branches, attached to its Religion.

1989 S. Eldred-Grigg Siren Celia ii. 41 It appears a trifling matter to build happiness upon.

2003 Classical Rev. 53 12 Although she builds an argument upon this claim that Orestes hesitates, she does not in fact establish that he does hesitate.

2. intransitive. In earlier use often: to rely on, have confidence in (a person or thing). Later usually: to use (something) as a basis for a belief, argument, etc., or for further development. Cf. to build on —— 2 at Phrasal verbs 2.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > belief, trust, confidence > trust [verb (intransitive)]

hopec888

believeOE

trowc1000

levec1175

strusta1250

trista1250

trestc1275

traista1300

affyc1330

assurec1374

restc1384

sover1488

confidea1525

faith1555

relyc1571

build1573

1573 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 27 I..tould him I wuld bilde uppon him.

1577 W. Fulke Overthrow & Confut. Doctr. Purgatory ii. vi. 262 in Two Treat. against Papistes I haue often saide we deferre nothing to his authoritie, who was both in a corrupt time, and he himselfe a corrupter of religion by building vpon fables and authorities of men.

1630 P. Massinger Renegado iv. iii. sig. K2 Heauen..will not suffer you to want a man, To doe that sacred office, build vpon it.

1643 J. Swan Speculum Mundi (ed. 2) ii. §3. 33 I find therefore little in Josephus concerning this to build upon.

1740 S. Richardson Pamela I. xxxi. 144 I am deny'd..to go to Church, as I had built upon I might.

1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 2 222 Whether or not that evidence is admissible to build upon.

1876 E. Mellor Priesthood vii. 323 The next passage upon which the Romanists and Ritualists build.

1993 Freetime 9 June 5/4 [The band] Poison are ready to build upon one of the most coveted fan bases in all of rock 'n' roll.

2015 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 5 Nov. 62/3 They called the strategy Primary Health Care, and it was intended to build upon the networks of health clinics and hospitals established in former French, British, and Portuguese colonies.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2022).

单词	build
释义	buildn. Brit. /bɪld/, U.S. /bɪld/ Forms: Middle English beld, Middle English belde, Middle English beylde, Middle English bielde, Middle English bild, Middle English bilde, Middle English bulde, Middle English bylde, 1600s– build. Origin: Probably of multiple origins. Probably partly a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Partly formed within English, by conversion. Etymons: bold n.; build v. Etymology: Probably originally (in sense 1) an alteration of bold n., after build v. In later use directly < build v. With sense 2a compare earlier built n.Probably re-formed in the 17th cent. †1. A building. Also (in early use): a group of buildings that make up a town, castle, etc. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [noun] bottleeOE houseeOE boldOE building1297 builda1387 edificec1386 mansion1389 bigginga1400 housinga1400 edification1432 edifying1432 fabric1483 edify1555 structure1560 erection1609 framec1639 bastiment1679 drum1846 dump1899 gaff1932 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 71 Buldes..in þe manere of Rome [L. ædificia Romano more]. c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 963 Bryng me to þat bygly bylde. c1475 (c1450) P. Idley Instr. to his Son (Cambr.) (1935) ii. A. l. 1113 (MED) I se som men..make grete bildes, Areyse grete towres and hye walles. c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) l. 157 Swich a bild bold, y-buld opon erþe heiȝte Say i nouȝt in certeine siþþe a longe tyme. 2. a. The way in which something (esp. a vehicle) is designed, manufactured, or constructed; its structure, form, or make.In early use esp. of a ship or carriage; now chiefly of a car. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > [noun] > style of creation or construction > of manufactured things makea1325 makinga1398 model1597 build1667 1655 R. Fanshawe tr. L. de Camoens Lusiad vii. xxviii. 141 Towards the Ships..return they straight: Which the Moor knew, when he the Build survay'd. 1668 S. Pepys Diary 30 Oct. (1976) IX. 342 He finds most infinite fault with it [sc. my coach]..and so I do resolve to have one of his build. 1707 Articles of Union (Parl. Scotl.) 16 Jan. 107 in A. Boyer Hist. Reign Queen Anne: Year the Fifth App. That all Ships..of Scotland,..though Foreign Built, be deem'd, and pass as Ships of the Build of Great Britain. 1842 T. De Quincey Philos. Herodotus in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 20/1 The awkwardness of their build for fast sailing. 1892 W. W. Greener Breech-loader 95 The ‘try gun’..is of use in fitting a sportsman who needs a gun of special build. 1913 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 22 Feb. 28/1 (advt.) The rugged build and the extra thickness of the tread make it unusually enduring in service. Preferred by motorists everywhere. 2013 D. Barsby et al. BTEC Level 2 Firsts in Sport 205/1 There have been several rule changes that affect the design and build of the car. b. figurative and in extended use: the way someone or something is formed or composed; (hence also) the constitution or nature of someone or something. ΘΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > [noun] > style of creation or construction shaft888 suitc1330 generationa1382 makinga1398 frame?1520 workmanship1578 imagerya1592 model1597 fabricaturec1600 builtc1615 fabric1644 module1649 get-up1857 fashioning1870 the world > relative properties > kind or sort > [noun] > of construction or composition shaft888 makea1325 suitc1330 makinga1398 mark1482 inventiona1513 workmanship1578 cut1590 model1597 mould1667 fashioning1870 Mk.1921 1832 H. Coleridge Worthies Yorks. & Lancs. 3 Andrew Marvell, a patriot of the old Roman build. 1842 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. III. 523/1 The build of the fibre is..of no importance. 1920 Jrnl. Mental Sci. July 294 The surgeon and the physician and equally the neurologist and psychiatrist differ in mental build. 1986 A. S. Romer & T. S. Parsons Vertebr. Body (ed. 6) ix. 283 In reptiles, the dorsal trunk muscles remain in part segmentally divided but tend to have a complex build. 2012 Web Newswire (Nexis) 24 Jan. I believe students with athletic build of mind benefit not only in the field of sport and academics, but even long after they step off of it. 3. The proportions of a person's or animal's body; bodily shape or physique. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > [noun] featurec1325 making1340 staturec1380 statea1387 bonea1400 figurec1400 makec1425 corpulence1477 corsage1481 makdom1488 mouldc1550 corporature1555 frame1566 dimension1600 limit1608 set1611 timber1612 compact1646 taille1663 fabric1695 moulding1815 physique1826 tournure1827 build1832 form1849 body type1866 body build1907 somatotype1940 size1985 1828 Ann. Reg. 1827 Manners, Customs, &c. 500/1 The Aga was a Nubian, small, and of a slender build. 1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. xxii. 175 In build he [sc. a polar bear] was very solid. 1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People ii. §3. 67 The peasant in his cap and blouse recalls the build and features of the small English farmer. 1926 E. F. Benson Queen of Spa in Desirable Resid. (1992) 134 She was terribly smartly dressed with skirts that, considering her build, were unnecessarily short. 1947 Sun (Baltimore) 15 Aug. 12/6 He is a stocky man who..has the build of a quarterback. 1970 Dog World 6 Nov. 1739/1 This is a breed of gundog which looks very much like the English working Setter but is a little heavier in build. 2021 East Anglian Daily Times (Nexis) 4 Sept. He is described as white, 5ft 9in tall and of medium build with brown hair. 4. The action or activity of building something or of undertaking a building project; (also) the period during which this takes place. Later also: the result of this. Recorded earliest as a modifier (see Compounds). Π 1938 J. Normile Better Homes & Gardens Bk. Bildcost Home Plans (Rev. ed.) 4/2 An architect, building-material dealer, or contractor will be glad to give you the build cost. 1965 Investig. Pressure Prediction Methods for Radial Flow Impellers: Phase II Final Rep. (Pratt & Whitney Aircraft) iii. 1 Runouts on the rotating assembly were measured at various stages during the build. 1990 Sunday Times 2 Dec. vi. 6/2 (advt.) The build is targeted to pass 20,000 homes next year, rising to 37,000 per annum as the momentum increases. 2005 Independent 19 Oct. (Property section) 5/3 The end of the build is almost in sight. Last week, we gave our notice to the landlord of our Brixton flat, so..we will be moving in at the end of November. 2012 Hull Daily Mail (Nexis) 3 Mar. (News section) 14 It was..a stunning build that goes against the boring misconception..of renewable energy. 5. The (usually gradual) accumulation or increase of something; a build-up. Π 1942 Instrument Flying Training (U.S. War Dept.Techn. Man. TM 1-445) 86 If there is no change in signal strength or if there is no change in the background, after several minutes of flight turn 90° and recheck for fade or build. 1961 Trans. 5th Res. Conf. Chemotherapy Stud. in Psychiatry 1960 13 The same gradual build of dosage schedule was followed for all patients. 2001 Business Week 30 July 54/2 I used to think only outrageous products were worthy of viral marketing..but even a loved American food like the hot dog can generate a lot of discussion and a viral build. 2021 Postmedia Breaking News (Nexis) 23 Jan. Investors and economists are split on the inflation outlook, with some projecting price pressures will keep..while others forecast the build in inflation will be short-lived. 6. Computing. The process or an instance of constructing a program from source code or elements of an existing program and other resources such as menu templates, images, icons, etc. Also: the result of this; a compiled program. Cf. build v. 3e. Π 1976 R. C. Tausworthe Standardized Devel. Computer Software I. x. 343 The Interface Control Engineer also has the responsibility of all program ‘builds’; that is, the linking together of program elements (modules and dummy stubs) in preparation for testing. 1989 DesignCenter (U.S.) ii. 8/3 For example, program builds can be done remotely, providing increased performance for individual engineers. 2004 .net Christmas Issue 44/3 When code is checked in, the product is available for testing for some time (this is what we call nightly builds), and people on the internet can look at it and make sure it's safe. 2016 K. Edwards in H. Lowood & R. Guins Debugging Game Hist. xii. 97 Localization..typically includes translating resources and assets from the original language to the target language, implementing these translated assets into an internationalized build, and then testing, editing, and fixing bugs in the translation. Compounds General use as a modifier, as in build cost, build process, build schedule, etc. Π 1938 J. Normile Better Homes & Gardens Bk. Bildcost Home Plans (Rev. ed.) 4/2 An architect, building-material dealer, or contractor will be glad to give you the build cost. 1974 Argosy Aug. 14/3 The initial build schedule called for assembly of 60 units. 1991 Constr. Weekly Products Suppl. Sept. 20/1 Even before its completion, Gravelly Hill was attacked as an eyesore. Subsequent criticisms have centred on build quality. 2010 Esquire Nov. 71/4 This [guitar] has undergone meticulous scrutiny at every stage of the build process, from wood choice..to the final setup. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2022). buildv. Brit. /bɪld/, U.S. /bɪld/ Inflections: Past tense and participle built, (archaic, regional, and nonstandard) builded; Forms: 1. Present stem. α. Old English byldan, early Middle English beolde (south-western), Middle English beelde, Middle English beilde (south-eastern), Middle English beld, Middle English belde, Middle English bielde, Middle English bijlde, Middle English bilede, Middle English bolde (south-western), Middle English–1500s bild, Middle English–1500s bilde, Middle English–1500s bulde, Middle English–1500s byld, Middle English–1500s bylde, Middle English–1600s builde, Middle English–1600s buylde, Middle English– build, 1500s beald, 1500s bield, 1500s byeld, 1500s–1600s buld, 1500s–1600s buyld, 1500s–1600s bwild, 1600s bwyld; English regional (northern) 1800s beeld, 1800s beild, 1800s bield; Scottish pre-1700 beild, pre-1700 beilde, pre-1700 beld, pre-1700 beuld, pre-1700 beulld, pre-1700 bild, pre-1700 boold, pre-1700 bould, pre-1700 bueld, pre-1700 builde, pre-1700 buld, pre-1700 bulld, pre-1700 buyld, pre-1700 bwylde, pre-1700 1700s– build; N.E.D. (1888) also records a form Middle English bield. β. chiefly East Anglian Middle English beyll (northern), Middle English bile, Middle English byle, Middle English byll, Middle English bylle; English regional (northern) 1800s beel. 2. Past tense. α. Old English–Middle English bylde, Middle English belde, Middle English bild, Middle English bilde, Middle English bilid, Middle English billed, Middle English builde, Middle English bulde, Middle English buyld, Middle English buylde, Middle English byld, Middle English byled, Middle English byllid, Middle English byllyd. β. Middle English beeldide, Middle English belded, Middle English bildede, Middle English bildide, Middle English byldede, Middle English byldytte, Middle English–1500s bilded, Middle English–1500s bylded, Middle English–1500s byldid, Middle English–1500s byldyd, Middle English–1600s buylded, late Middle English– builded (now archaic, regional, or nonstandard), 1500s belldete, 1500s bildid, 1500s buyldyd, 1500s–1600s bulded; also Scottish pre-1700 beildit, pre-1700 beldit, pre-1700 buildit, pre-1700 buldit, pre-1700 buyldit. γ. Middle English bilt, Middle English bilte, Middle English bult, Middle English bulte, Middle English bylt, Middle English bylte, Middle English–1600s buylt, 1500s–1600s builte, 1500s– built, 1800s–1900s belt (English regional (northern and north-east midlands)); Scottish pre-1700 belt, pre-1700 buelt, pre-1700 1700s– built. δ. U.S. regional (in African-American usage) 1800s builted. 3. Past participle. α. early Middle English ȝebyld (south-west midlands), Middle English beeld, Middle English beld, Middle English bild, Middle English bilde, Middle English biled, Middle English bilid, Middle English billed, Middle English bulde, Middle English bulled, Middle English buylde, Middle English bylde, Middle English bylid, Middle English bylyd, Middle English ibelde, Middle English ibilde, Middle English ibuld, Middle English ibulde, Middle English ibyld, Middle English ybeld, Middle English ybelde, Middle English ybilde, Middle English ybuld, Middle English ybuyld, Middle English ybylde, Middle English ybylede, Middle English ybylid, Middle English–1500s buyld, Middle English–1600s buld, 1500s build, 1500s bylled, 1500s byllyd; Scottish pre-1700 beild, pre-1700 bullid. β. Middle English beeldid, Middle English beeldide, Middle English belded (in a late copy), Middle English beldyd, Middle English beyldede, Middle English beyldid, Middle English bieldid, Middle English byldede, Middle English byldid, Middle English byldyd, Middle English ibilded, Middle English ybeldyde, Middle English ybuylded, Middle English–1500s bilded, Middle English–1500s bildid, Middle English–1500s bylded, Middle English–1600s buylded, late Middle English– builded (now archaic, regional, or nonstandard), 1500s buildyd, 1500s buldyd, 1500s buyldyd, 1500s buyldyt; also Scottish pre-1700 beilded, pre-1700 beildit, pre-1700 beildyt, pre-1700 beldit, pre-1700 bildit, pre-1700 bouldit, pre-1700 buildit, pre-1700 bulded, pre-1700 buldit, pre-1700 buyldit, pre-1700 ybeildit, pre-1700 ybeldyt; N.E.D. (1888) also records a form late Middle English beldid. γ. Middle English belt, Middle English bilte, Middle English bult, Middle English bylte, Middle English ybilt, Middle English ybilte, Middle English ybuylt, Middle English ybylt, Middle English–1500s bilt, Middle English–1500s bylt, Middle English–1500s ibylt, 1500s–1600s builte, 1500s–1600s buylt, 1500s–1600s ybuilt (archaic), 1500s– built; Scottish pre-1700 belt, pre-1700 buelt, pre-1700 1700s– built. δ. U.S. regional (in African-American usage) 1900s– builted. Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: English bytlan. Etymology: Metathetic variant of Old English (weak Class I) bytlan (also weak Class II bytlian ) to build, erect < bottle n.¹; compare (with parallel metathesis) bold n. Compare the similarly-formed Old Frisian belda to provide with a dowry ( < bold house: see bold n.).The word is rare in Old English, and chiefly south-western and south-west midland in early Middle English. In Old English the derivative (agent noun) bylda builder, is also once attested (alongside bytla , in the same sense; < bytlan , bytlian ). Form history. The wide variety of forms reflects several divergent developments. The stem vowel of Old English byldan was subject to lengthening before the homorganic consonant group ld in late Old English, although in some varieties the short vowel was preserved (or reintroduced by later shortening), the modern standard pronunciation with unrounded short i being a prime example. This pronunciation could be shown by Middle English forms such as bild, bilde, byld, etc., but these could equally well reflect an unrounded long ī , which by the operation of the Great Vowel Shift was subsequently diphthongized to /ai/ (compare e.g. byeld and the parallel development of child n.); the evidence of the early modern orthoepists shows that the latter pronunciation was common. Similar ambiguity attaches to Middle English forms like beld, belde (at least when their provenance is south-eastern) as these continue Old English (Kentish) e or ē (unrounded and lowered < y or ȳ ); compare (unambiguously reflecting a long vowel) the form beilde in quot. a1500 at sense 1a, from a manuscript with a Kentish provenance; but pronunciation of the word with a short e was still current in some educated speech in the 17th cent., as evidenced by the homophone lists of Fox and Hookes (1673). In northern Middle English and Older Scots the word was subject to belated homorganic cluster lengthening, which occurred after early Middle English short vowel lowering, with the result that northern short i was lengthened to /eː/ (and subsequently raised to /iː/ by the operation of the Great Vowel Shift; compare Older Scots beild). In this form the word appears only late in Older Scots (in the second half of the 15th cent.), probably as a borrowing from English (the usual earlier Scots word is big v.¹); in the form build it is even later (16th cent.) and clearly adopted from English (see below). Old English y , ȳ typically remained as a high front rounded vowel in the west midlands and south-west until unrounded at the end of the 14th cent. (compare Middle English forms such as bulde, builde, buyld, which provide the modern standard spelling build ). However, with this particular word there is clear evidence that the western rounded pronunciation, like the western spelling, gained wider currency beyond the west and survived in some educated speech as late as the 17th cent. The orthoepist Gil (1619) notes it among no fewer than four pronunciations of the stem vowel of build , viz. (i) /yː/, (ii) /ai/ ( < Middle English ī , with diphthongization in the Great Vowel Shift), (iii) /ɪ/, and (iv) /iː/ ( < either south-eastern Middle English close ē or northern Middle English close ē (by belated homorganic cluster lengthening of short i ), both with raising in the Great Vowel Shift). Other orthoepists show only /ɪ/ or /ai/, presumably the most common realizations. (The diphthongal pronunciation survived in some regional varieties into the 20th cent.: J. Wright Eng. Dial. Gram. (1905) 358 records such a pronunciation from north-west Oxfordshire.) The form type build reached Scotland very late (16th cent.) apparently chiefly with the pronunciation /yː/, as spellings indicate that it was mostly assigned to the equivalent high front phoneme (compare e.g. build, buyld, buld, boold); occasional 17th-cent. forms such as beuld, bueld suggest possible merger in some speech with /ju/. The forms at Forms 1β. show a new present stem inferred from the past tense and past participle, by analogy with e.g. kill v., pill v.¹, till v.¹ (compare forms at those entries). Forms of the past tense and past participle. The α. forms show regular syncope of the vowel of the ending (characteristic of weak verbs of Class I in Old English) and simplification of the resulting stem-final consonant group; such forms survive (at least in the past participle) into the 17th cent. The β. forms lack syncope; they were formerly very common and considered standard, but now (in the form builded) archaic, regional, or nonstandard. The γ. forms are derived from the syncopated α. forms (which they eventually replace) with early Middle English devoicing of the stem-final dental after a liquid or nasal consonant (compare gild v., send v.¹, etc.). Difficulty of distinguishing from bield v. In some forms, especially in sense 8, the word can be difficult to distinguish from bield v. (compare sense 2 at that entry). Specific senses. With sense 8 compare the similar semantic development at edify v. I. To construct, make, and related senses. 1. a. transitive. To construct, put up, erect (a house or other dwelling or building); to construct (a permanent static structure such as a wall, bridge, or architectural feature, a road or railway, etc.). Also: to commission, finance, direct, or oversee the construction of (something of this type). ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)] timbera900 workOE betimberOE craftOE buildc1275 lifta1300 stagec1330 upraise1338 wright1338 edifya1340 to make outa1382 to make upa1382 biga1400 housea1400 risea1400 telda1400–50 to work upa1450 redress1481 levy1495 upmake1507 upbuild1513 exstruct?c1550 construct1663 to run up1686 practise1739 to lay up1788 elevate1798 to put up1818 to lay down1851 practicate1851 OE Bounds (Sawyer 1388) (transcript of lost MS) in D. Hooke Warwickshire Anglo-Saxon Charter-bounds (1999) 121 Onbuton ðone croft ðe Wynstan bylde. c1155 ( Bounds (Sawyer 1555) in S. E. Kelly Charters of Bath & Wells (2007) 147 To werbolde, xl mæra oððe an foþer gyrda, oððe viii geocu byld [perhaps read bylde], iii ebban tyne. c1200 (?OE) Grave (1890) l. 1 Ðe wes bold ȝebyld, er þu iboren were. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxiv. 4 Moises..byldid anauter to þe lord, at þe rootis of þe hyll: & twelue tytlis: by twelue linagis of yrael. a1425 (a1382) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) 3 Kings vii. 2 He bildide the hows of the wijld wode of Liban. a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) l. 1252 A porche, bilt of square stonys. a1500 (?c1450) Merlin iv. 63 To beilde feire howsynge. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Britain i. 367 The roufe aloft ybuilt Of Geat. 1644 J. Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 75 A castle builded on a very steep cliff. 1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. Sept. (1965) I. 437 The Houses are tolerably well built. 1794 S. Williams Nat. & Civil Hist. Vermont 138 When the Indian builded his house. 1859 F. Nightingale Notes on Nursing ii. 15 Your house must be so built as that the outer air shall find its way..to every corner of it. 1883 Harper's Mag. Nov. 939/1 550 miles of railroad had been built. 1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1958) i. i. 12 A Ministry which wished to build a government factory on the site. 2002 P. Raines Simple Stonescaping (2003) iv. 35/1 Jon said that before they put up a fence he wanted to grade and terrace the yard and build a stone wall and pond. 2012 Guardian (Nexis) 25 Feb. 66 (headline) One architect managed to avoid the housing ladder altogether by designing and building his own home on the cheap. b. transitive. To initiate or undertake the construction of (a city or other settlement); to found or establish. Π c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1329 He wolde bulden [c1300 Otho makie] twa burh. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 57 He bulde [1480 Caxton bylded] Caunterbury þe chief citee of Kent. a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) l. 187 Worthy Thebees..Bylt and begonne of olde antiquite. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. BBBiiii^v Jerico, Hay, & Gabaon, whiche the pagans buylded. 1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. iii. 104 The Lacedemonians..built a Town there. 1720 J. Strype Stow's Surv. of London (rev. ed.) I. i. i. 7/1 Nor is there any Reason to think the Romans built the City of London. 1873 Money Market (ed. 3) xii. 144 Finance companies..undertake to supply cash for the most gigantic undertakings, to make railways, tunnel under mountains, build cities, [etc.] 1959 Chambers's Encycl. VIII. 41/2 A new capital was built on the site of the present city of Kyoto. 2004 Independent 2 Jan. i. 7/1 His plans to build a village on the fringes of Britain's surfing capital..whipped up a storm of protest. c. transitive. To construct or make (a vehicle, device, or other object) by putting parts or materials together. Later also: to produce or manufacture (something) on a large scale by doing this.In early use typically with a ship or other vessel as object; cf. shipbuilding n. ΚΠ 1550 Langland's Vision of Pierce Plowman (new ed.) sig. ⚜.ii Accordynge to the example of them that builte Noes shippe, many of the preachers shall not be saued. 1651 Severall Proc. Parl. No. 123. 1910 A Vessell..built at Swansey. 1754 S. Foote Knights i. 4 A Coach of his Grandfather's, built in the Year One. 1852 tr. J. J. Seidel Organ & its Constr. 21 In 1576, an organ with..a back-choir was built at Bernan. 1860 All Year Round 15 Sept. 545 The taste of the day is for guns that are built, not cast. 1910 Washington Post 6 Nov. iii. 2/3 In 1910 this motor city built 100,000 automobiles. 1948 Proc. Symp. Large-scale Digital Calculating Machinery 1947 3 A..project undertaken by Harvard University to build a computer. 1976 A. Davis Television 47 Props departments that can build models of, say, spacecraft. 2020 Expert Rev. (Nexis) 28 Mar. Build your flatpack furniture faster with the best electric screwdrivers from £20. 2. a. intransitive. To construct or erect a building or buildings; to engage in building as an activity, project, etc. Later also: to make a vehicle, model, etc., by putting parts or materials together. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build [verb (intransitive)] buildc1275 edifyc1400 ?1316 Short Metrical Chron. (Royal) (2002) l. 163 To bulden he [sc. King Lud] heuede gode wate; At Londone he made a ȝate. 1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) v. xiv. f. cviii Yf thou..arte a maister werker..couthest thou bilde withouten mater. 1576 N. Bacon in A. H. Smith et al. Papers N. Bacon of Stiffkey (1979) I. 196 The masons tell me that building with calion, to bring up one pece after an other it w[ould] hardly be joyned without some daunger of cracck. 1664 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders (new ed.) ii. 104 All Owners..whether they Build or not. 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 268 The Ground was let out to build on. 1848 L. Hunt Jar of Honey iii. 33 Building as if they were to live for ever. 1985 A. Blair Tea at Miss Cranston's xix, in Miss Cranston's Omnibus (1998) 161 Bairns building with Lego. 2001 Guardian 9 June (Weekend Suppl.) 86/1 This is the way to build, I thought: architecture without architects. 2022 Leicester Mercury (Nexis) 20 Apr. 12 North West Leicestershire District Council turned down a proposal last year to build on the same piece of land. b. intransitive. In the progressive with passive meaning: to be under construction, to be in the process of being built. Now chiefly historical (esp. in the context of shipbuilding). ΚΠ 1572 I. B. Let. to R. C. sig. F.ii^v He dothe minde at his first landing, to..builde there his store house and houses of prouision,..and in the meane time that it is building and raising, to lodge all his men in campe. 1699 J. Wallis Let. 24 Oct. in S. Pepys Diary & Corr. (1879) VI. 209 The old Channel..for diverting the Thames whilst London Bridge was building. 1753 J. Warburton Vallum Romanum 95 Most of them erected when Severus's wall was building. 1862 G. W. Thornbury Life J. M. W. Turner I. 199 Five drawings of the abbey, then building. 1935 Rotarian Aug. 13/2 A good matronly woman who showed people 'round the ark when it was building. 2014 B. Lavery Ship of Line (e-book ed.) The ship was building in Pembroke Dock, but was not completed until 1858 after being fitted with a steam engine. 3. a. transitive. Of a bird: to construct (a nest). Also of certain other animals, e.g. beavers: to construct (a lodge, dam, or other structure). Also intransitive. ΘΠ the world > animals > by habitat > inhabit [verb (intransitive)] > nest nesteOE buildc1275 nidify1656 nestlec1660 nidificate1814 nide1881 the world > animals > by habitat > inhabit [verb (transitive)] > build or provide with nest innest1611 nestlec1660 nest1896 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. xii. ii. 603 Sche buldeþ hire nest in fulle hiȝe rooches. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 509 Bryddeȝ busken to bylde, & bremlych syngen. c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iii. l. 41 (MED) Þis brid be a bank bildith his nest. a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iv. xiii. 3 Swallowes haue built In Cleopatra's Sailes their nests. View more context for this quotation 1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia 15 [Beavers] gnaw down trees to build with. 1789 G. White Let. in Nat. Hist. Selborne 109 A pair of honey-buzzards..built them a large shallow nest. 1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam cxiii. 178 The happy birds, that change their sky To build and brood. View more context for this quotation 1978 Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ont.) 1 Sept. 15/1 Autumn is busy beaver..feverishly building food rafts in front of newly chinked lodges. It is muskrats building push-ups from bulrush plants. 2019 Times 20 Aug. 48/5 A duck had built her nest and laid eggs in the nearby garden. b. transitive. To arrange or pile the fuel for (a fire), typically implying also lighting it.to build a fire under: see fire n. and int. Phrases 2e. Π 1544 P. Betham tr. J. di Porcia Preceptes Warre i. sig. B.vii^v When the hoste of thyne enemyes is nere, good it is, to commaunde al the fewellers to buylde theyr fyres, the trompets blowe vp alarum, al the host to make an outcrye. a1754 E. Tollet Poems Several Occasions (1755) 111 On sevenfold Heaps he had to build the Pyre. 1792 Mass. Mag. Dec. 758/2 A Mr Jabez Parsons..as building a fire in the house of Isaac Sheldon..and rolling a log on the fire, was unfortunately struck in his temples by the lever, which put a period to his existence. 1805 R. Southey Madoc ii. iv. 214 Fires are built before the tents. 1884 Harper's Mag. June 127/2 He often built his own fire. 1986 J. Urquhart Whirlpool (1990) 25 She rearranged them into a square formation, into what her husband called the log cabin method of building a fire. 2009 B. O'Donoghue Ben's Barbecue 1 I well remember going down to the beach on early-morning fishing expeditions with my friends, building a fire and throwing our fresh catch onto the coals. c. transitive. To make (a cake, pie, etc.); used esp. with reference to its size or structure. Also simply (colloquial or regional): to cook, prepare (a dish or meal). Π 1839 Burton's Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 144 My dear mamma had built a cake about the size of a washing-tub. 1930 E. Ferber Cimarron xv. 232 They built angel-food cakes whose basis was the whites of thirteen eggs. 1947 P. Newton Wayleggo 118 The packie had built us a stew. 2020 Guardian (Nexis) 14 Jan. It's a cracking mould to build a pie in, because it's so easy to remove the finished article from, and it guarantees you a gorgeous, high-sided, deep-filled pie. d. transitive. Esp. of a tailor: to make (clothing); to put together or fashion (a garment); also intransitive. Also: to make (shoes or boots). ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > tailor or make clothes [verb (transitive)] shape?c1225 to make up1647 confection1839 build1840 tailor1856 the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > tailor or make clothes [verb (intransitive)] shape?c1225 tailor1662 build1897 1840 R. H. Barham Spectre of Tappington in Ingoldsby Legends 1st Ser. 22 [The trousers] were cleverly ‘built’, of a light grey mixture. 1849 Lives Distinguished Shoemakers 245 Fellow-craftsmen in the trade of building shoes. a1896 G. Du Maurier Martian (1897) 183 Is it still Skinner who builds for you? 1897 Globe 11 Mar. 3/4 A tailor would..have had his work cut out for him to build that..chubby creature a costume. 1978 Field & Stream Aug. 58/1 (advt.) We've had nearly 100 years' experience building boots to protect your feet in warmth and comfort. 2018 Guardian (Nexis) 17 Sept. I didn't know how to build a suit jacket, so I bought one and took it apart there and then. e. transitive. Computing. To construct (a program); spec. to process (source code or a program) into a form that can be installed and used on a computer system. Π 1963 Simulation Syst. Programming Design Man. (U.S. Naval Training Device Center Techn. Rep. 1089-1) 69 We could build a program that automatically converts our language into binary and symbolic locations to absolute locations. 1989 Dr. Dobb's Jrnl. Sept. 60/3 (advt.) We take care to build the underlying POSIX kernel functionality or DOS and OS/2 into MKS software before moving utilities. 2005 Macworld (U.K. ed.) June 16/1 This will help video and image editors, and may encourage developers to build networkable applications. 2016 H. Lowood & R. Guins Debugging Game Hist. Contributors 433 A transdisciplinary, interinstitutional research group that studies, teaches with, and builds computer games. 4. transitive. figurative. To establish, develop, or construct (something abstract, such as a system of thought or belief, a reputation, a relationship, etc.), esp. incrementally or gradually.In early use typically with allusion to the notion of physical construction (see sense 1), which is weakened or absent in later use. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > construct > gradually buildc1440 c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale (Hengwrt) (1872) l. 1977 Al oure Couent To praye for yow is ay so diligent And for to buylden cristes owene chirche. 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xiii. 109 Meetres..builded with polysillables. a1593 C. Marlowe Massacre at Paris (c1600) sig. D2 Who will helpe to builde Religion? 1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 20 in Justa Edouardo King He knew Himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Godiva in Poems (new ed.) II. 115 She..built herself an everlasting name. 1860 F. W. Farrar Ess. Origin Lang. i. 7 Building systems before they had collected facts. 1939 Fortune Oct. 11/1 (caption) A million-dollar business was built. 1973 Evaluating Federal Effort to control Drug Abuse (U.S. Congr. House Comm. Govt. Operations Special Stud. Subcomm.) iv. 971 Building the case to schedule a drug. 1986 F. G. Rodgers & R. L. Shook IBM Way vii. 148 It takes time and energy..to build a solid relationship with a customer. 2014 Guardian 31 Oct. 46/2 The Outer Hebrides are quietly building a reputation as a place where rare American vagrants [i.e. birds] regularly turn up. 5. a. transitive. Of God or another divine being: to create or make (the world, a person, an animal, etc.); to bring into being. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > construct workOE dighta1175 to set upc1275 graitha1300 formc1300 pitchc1330 compoundc1374 to put togethera1387 performc1395 bigc1400 elementc1400 complexion1413 erect1417 framea1450 edifya1464 compose1481 construe1490 to lay together1530 perstruct1547 to piece together1572 condite1578 conflate1583 compile1590 to put together1591 to set together1603 draw1604 build1605 fabric1623 complicate1624 composit1640 constitute1646 compaginate1648 upa1658 complex1659 construct1663 structurate1664 structure1664 confect1677 to put up1699 rig1754 effect1791 structuralize1913 ?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 38 This..man whiche myn hand made and byldyd in blysse. 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. vi. 192 Beasts which thou this day did'st build. 1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) cxxi. 1 The Lord that built the Earth and Skies Is my perpetual Aid. 1847 R. W. Emerson Goethe in Wks. (1906) I. 392 The old Eternal Genius who built the world. 2005 W. Marder Indians in Americas viii. 112 Their God..turned into a man and built the world through the power of his words. b. (a) transitive (in passive). To have a physique or build of a specified type. Cf. build n. 3, built adj. 3. Π 1642 T. Fuller Holy State ii. v. 67 His body was strongly built for the naturall temper, and well repair'd by his temperate diet and recreations. 1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 54 Built as it were to make a good Boxer. 1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite iii, in Fables 69 Such Bodies built for Strength, of equal Age, In Stature siz'd. 1820 L. Hunt Indicator 5 Apr. 207 So built with muscle was his chest. 1864 R. D. Blackmore Clara Vaughan I. i. xv. 122 A man about fifty years old, of moderate stature, gauntly bodied, and loosely built. 1990 E. Harth Dawn of Millennium (1991) iii. 43 They were powerfully built, with sloping foreheads and protruding brow ridges. (b) transitive (in passive). to be built like ——: to have a large or powerful physique or build, likened to that of an imposing or sturdy building, animal, etc.See also built like a brick shithouse at brick n.¹ and adj.¹ Phrases 5, built like a castle at castle n. 3g, built like a tank at tank n.⁷ Phrases. Π 1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles iv. xxii. 158 His stature, manly, bold, and tall, Built like a castle's battled wall. 1938 R. Wright Lawd Today! in Early Wks. (1991) ii. iii. 154 She was husky and built like a horse. 1986 R. Sproat Stunning the Punters 140 Alf's a tasty geezer in a bundle on account of being so fast and together and built like a rhino. 2015 A. Mulligan Liquidator 58 Big Jun, his bodyguard (who's built like a truck). (c) transitive (in passive). colloquial (originally U.S.). With complement. To be temperamentally or psychologically disposed or inclined; to be of a specified character. Usually in negative contexts. ΚΠ 1876 W. M. Baker Carter Quarterman xv. 97/2 Colonel Tom..says he wasn't built to be a shepherd over sheep. 1888 Missouri Republican 25 Jan. 6/5 ‘Why didn't you roll down?’ ‘I wasn't built that way.’ 1909 O. S. Wood in Business Admin. 369 All minds are not built for high-level thinking. Advertising must be simple. 1912 A. Bennett Matador of Five Towns & Other Stories 75 I'm not built the same way myself. 1999 Campaign (Nexis) 19 Mar. Film is a mixture of high-minded ideas and practical production problems... I thought I was built for it. 2009 D. O'Briain Tickling Eng. vi. 77 An English crowd isn't built to accept good news like that. c. transitive. To compose or form (an organism, molecule, etc.); to cause (a natural or organic structure) to form, develop, or grow. Cf. earlier to build up 5a at Phrasal verbs 1. Π 1821 C. Mackenzie One Thousand Exper. in Chem. viii. 181 The crystal, in short, is, as it were, built of isomorphous molecules without any chemical affinity having a share in it, and without our being able to perceive fixed and determinate proportions. 1846 Farmer's Mag. Oct. 559/1 The milk..contains every substance of which the body is built. 1873 Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 166 Their [sc. plants] food must be decomposed in order to create the organic matter out of which all organisms are built. 1921 W. D. Harkins in London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 42 309 Any complex atom has a mass and weight 0·76 per cent. less than the hydrogen atoms (neutrons) from which it may be assumed to be built. 1993 UCSD Perspectives 6 9/2 Two other peroxisomal enzymes..help build molecules called alkyl ether phospholipids that scavenge the cell for harmful chemicals. 2007 G. Kroening Everything Kids' Snakes, Lizards, & Other Scaly Creatures Bk. 14 While some proteins help build strong muscles.., keratin builds other handy body parts: claws, fingernails, fur, feathers, hair, horns, skin, and scales. 6. a. transitive. To make (a feeling, mood, quality, etc.) stronger or more intense; to cause to increase. Π 1901 Sunday Times Globe Jrnl. (Dubuque, Iowa) 17 Nov. (Morning ed.) 8/4 It should be the business of all citizenship to cultivate, fortify, and build this loyalty to the home. 1971 B. Sidran Black Talk (1995) v. 139 Bassist Wilbur Ware..superimposed chord substitutions, building the tension so that when he came back to the basics of the tune, it felt ‘like everything sucked in’. 2009 N.Y. Mag. 21 Sept. 58/1 Trying to build interest and excitement any way they can. b. intransitive. Of a feeling, mood, quality, etc.: to become stronger or more intense; to increase. Π 1964 J. D. MacDonald Purple Place for Dying v. 72 I could feel a terrible tension building in her. 1974 W. Oakley Rumpelstiltskin 5 (stage direct.) The noise builds, there is a black-out, and when the lights come up Rumpelstiltkin has appeared on top of box. 1998 Cruising World Oct. 70/1 Despite the mal de mer, the excitement builds with each passing swell. 2013 S. Andrews Path of Emotions (e-book ed.) When an emotion is felt but not listened to, the energy builds internally and causes agitation. †II. To live in a place, to dwell. 7. intransitive. To live in a particular place; to take up one's abode, to dwell (also figurative). Also: to arise or appear in a particular place. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > [verb (intransitive)] > establish residence wickc897 telda1325 buildc1340 nestlea1382 to take (up) one's inn (or inns)a1400 to hold (also keep, make, take, etc.) one's mansiona1425 to take one's lodgec1475 reside1490 inhabit1548 to settle one's rest1562 to sit down1579 to set up (or in) one's staff (of rest)1584 to set (up) one's rest1590 nest1591 to set down one's rest1591 roost1593 inherit1600 habituate1603 seat1612 to take up (one's) residencea1626 settle1627 pitch1629 fix1638 locate1652 to marry and settle1718 domesticate1768 domiciliate1815 to hang up one's hat1826 domicile1831 to stick one's stakes1872 homestead1877 to put down roots1882 to hang one's hat1904 localize1930 the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > originate, derive, or arise [verb (intransitive)] arisec950 syeOE comeOE riselOE springc1175 buildc1340 derivec1386 sourdc1386 proceedc1390 becomea1400 to be descended (from, of)1399 bursta1400 to take roota1400 resolve?c1400 sourdre14.. springc1405 descenda1413 sprayc1425 well?a1475 depart1477 issue1481 provene1505 surmount1522 sprout1567 accrue?1576 source1599 dimane1610 move1615 drill1638 emane1656 emanate1756 originate1758 to hail from1841 deduce1866 inherita1890 stem1932 c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14808 Sone uolc gadere[de] to Austin þan gode..and bi-gunnen þer to bulden bi þan watere. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 25 Of alle þat here bult of Bretaygne kynges Ay watȝ Arthur þe hendest. a1500 in Englische Studien (1890) 14 402 Þe holy goste will in the byldon. 1543 ( Chron. J. Hardyng (1812) 98 Galerius had the este there into bylde. a1592 R. Greene Comicall Hist. Alphonsus (1599) iv. sig. G1 A blister build upon that traitors tongue! III. To make or promote religious or spiritual progress. Cf. the similar semantic development at edify v. 8. intransitive. To become stronger in faith or virtue; to promote religious or spiritual development. Also (esp. in later use): to advance (esp. gradually or incrementally) to or toward(s) a particular spiritual reward or punishment (typically heaven or hell). Cf. edify v. 3. In later use usually influenced by sense 2a.Cf. also to build up 3 at Phrasal verbs 1. [In to build towards hell (see quots. c1443, 1980) after post-classical Latin omne, quod contra conscientiam fit, edificat ad gehennam everything that is done against conscience builds towards hell (12th cent. in Gratian Decretum 28. 1. 4).] Π c1300 St. Mary Magdalen (Laud) l. 306 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 471 Huy leten heore vuele dedes..And aftur godes dedes huy wrouȝhten a[nd] gonne buylde. c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 166 As holy writt seiþ, ‘who euer dooþ aȝens his conscience, he bildiþ to helward.’ 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xx. 32 I commende you to God and to the worde of his grace which is able to bylde further [1611 to build you vp]. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Kvi That..they may meryt & buylde to their crowne in heuen. 1674 J. Goodman Serious Inq. Neglect Protestant Relig. sig. B3^v Then all the Professors of Christianity had one heart and one lip, and then they built towards Heaven in a good sense. 1883 Bangor (Maine) Daily Whig & Courier 19 Dec. The more we reflect upon and discuss great moral questions, the higher we build toward Heaven. 1980 D. J. Rose in R. L. Shinn Faith & Sci. in Unjust World xiii. 252 The nature of man himself who, being given free will, can choose to build towards heaven or towards hell. Phrases P1. to be built for comfort, not for speed and variants. a. Of a thing (originally and esp. a boat or other vehicle): to be designed and constructed so as to be comfortable rather than fast. Later also in extended use: to offer security or reliability but lack excitement or efficiency. Π 1868 N.Y. Herald 12 May 4/4 She is a first rate sea boat, and being built more for comfort than speed has capital accommodations on board. 1905 Motor Way 28 Sept. 41 (advt.) Rambler [motor car]... Occupants thoroughly protected from storms by full canopy top... Built for comfort—not for speed. 1917 Dial 11 Oct. 334/1 Democratic governments learn only by trial and error... Democracies are built for comfort, not for speed. 2011 R. Barton Cycling Bible (2015) i. 30/1 Touring bikes are built for comfort not speed. Their frames are often made from steel... Steel..[has] a bit more ‘give’, making for a less boneshaking ride over unmade roads. 2019 Sc. Daily Mail (Nexis) 16 Feb. 108 The shares already have some high expectations... it's a solid, well-run business. It's more of a Mondeo than a Maserati, but some stocks are built for comfort, not speed. b. Of a person: to prefer or be more suited to comfort and ease rather than exercise, excitement, or a challenge; (sometimes euphemistically) overweight, fat. Π 1911 San Francisco Examiner 6 Feb. 7/3 She was built for comfort, not speed, he tells you. She is so large that the only thing she can get ready-made is a handkerchief. 1934 Washington Post 28 Apr. 9/1 He is headed for a ‘realm of cooperative plenty’. Hot dog..! If it were not for the fact that I am built for comfort instead of speed I would have joined him. 1960 W. Dixon Built for Comfort (sheet music) Don't call me fat Cause I'm built for comfort I ain't built for speed. 2022 Toronto Sun (Web ed.) (Nexis) 19 Jan. When I was a teenage girl with a ‘sturdy’ body type, my father..often remarked that I was, ‘built for comfort, not for speed’... To all dads of teenage girls, please, be sparing with those ‘light teasing’ remarks. P2. to build bridges: to facilitate communication or reconciliation; to encourage or bring about friendly relations between different or opposing groups. Frequently with between, to. Cf. bridge-building n. 2. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > bring to peace (strife or discord) [verb (transitive)] > reconcile (people) seema1000 saughtc1000 saughtela1122 accordlOE i-sehtnec1175 saughtenc1175 to bring, make, set at onec1300 peasec1300 reconcilec1390 corda1400 pacifyc1500 agree1530 reconciliate1539 gree1570 atone1597 compose1597 even1620 to build bridges1886 society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > bring to peace (strife or discord) [verb (transitive)] > mediate between to go between ——lOE mean1440 mediate1538 to build bridges1886 1875 Glasgow Herald 8 Apr. 7/1 He thought they should give encouragement to all that tended to broaden—to build bridges rather than to raise walls. 1886 G. P. Fisher Catholicity, True & False 24 To soften the asperities of intellectual strife, and to build bridges between discordant sections of the Christian family. 1907 Times 10 Oct. 3/3 Undeterred by the failure of previous efforts to build bridges for the opponents of obligatory arbitration. 1969 Life 11 Apr. 36/1 The U.S. has tried to ‘build bridges’ to the U.S.S.R., while too often appearing determined to burn all Western bridges to China. 2002 Time Out N.Y. 31 Oct. 6/1 One of the primary goals is to build bridges between the GLBT and Poly communities. P3. Originally U.S. Followed by an infinitive or to and a noun, forming adjectival phrases designating or relating to something (esp. a house, building, etc.) made or constructed in accordance with that which is specified by the verb or noun, as in build-to-order, build-to-sell, build-to-suit, build-to-specification, etc. Cf. built adj. Phrases. Π 1911 Ohio Architect, Engineer & Builder Jan. 72/2 He is often hampered by..the allotment man whose ‘build to sell’..policy has no regard for any one but himself. 1950 Daily Independent Jrnl. (San Rafael, Calif.) 20 May 8/2 (advt.) Ideal settings for build-to-order homes among stately laurels and mammoth oaks. 1968 Philadelphia Inquirer 22 Aug. 45/3 Several locations available on a build to suit basis. 2018 FD Wire (Nexis) 2 May [These capabilities] will enhance..[their] ability to provide build-to-specification products. P4. to be built on sand: see sand n.² 2b. Rome was not built in a day: see Rome n. Phrases 1b. Phrasal verbs PV1. With adverbs in specialized senses. to build down 1. transitive. To reduce (something, esp. a group or set) in size or quantity gradually or systematically.With quot. 1983 cf. build-down n. ΘΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] > reduce gradually to wane away1601 wear1697 wean1707 whittle1736 to tail off (out)1827 to ease off1884 to taper off (away, down)1898 to run down1960 to wind down1969 1872 Missouri Dental Jrnl. Aug. 315 I..then proceeded to build down the tooth a little more than its former size and length. 1983 USA Today 4 Oct. 1 President Reagan will announce today that he'll offer to ‘build-down’ the USA's nuclear weapons when deadlocked strategic arms talks with the Soviets resume. 1992 New Republic 27 Apr. 12/1 He wants to build down U.S. forces at a moderate pace, and he does not want Congress forcing him to go faster. 2017 M-brain Norway News (Nexis) 10 Jan. 6 The need to build down the stocks of cheese made it necessary to reduce milk production, and as a market regulator, Tine asked for the milk quota for cow milk to be reduced by 2%. 2. intransitive. U.S. Cards. Esp. in games of patience: to place a card on one of the next highest denomination, e.g. a five on a six. Cf. to build up 7 at Phrasal verbs 1. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > play at cards [verb (intransitive)] > actions or tactics pass1599 pluck1606 pulla1625 to play high1640 to follow suit1643 to play at forsat1674 lead1677 overdrawc1805 stand1813 retract1823 underplay1850 to hold up1879 to throw in one's hand1893 build1901 build-down1983 1894 Outlook 20 Oct. 629/1 Upon the intervening spaces, the cards being arranged in a square of nine, build down. 1901 Munsey's Mag. Mar. 871/2 To build down..is to place a card upon one of the next higher denomination... To build up..is to do just the opposite—that is, to place an eight on a seven. 2019 P. Anthony Zombie Lover (e-book ed.) You can build down from any card in the tableau, like putting that red four on that black five. to build in transitive. Originally: to enclose (something) by building. Hence: to incorporate as an integral part of a building or other structure; (figurative) to make (something) an inherent, integral, or permanent characteristic or element of something else.Chiefly as past participle; cf. built-in adj. ΘΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > be (part of) [verb (transitive)] > be the or a component(s) of > introduce as a component part ingredience1650 in-build1856 1845 Law Jrnl. Rep. 14 ii. Court Exchequer Pleas 174/1 The boilers of the engine were..built in and surrounded by flues of brickwork. 1933 Telegr. & Teleph. Jrnl. 19 151/1 In New York telephones are ‘built-in’ and when you become a tenant..you 'phone as often as you like. 1965 Listener 4 Nov. 687/1 The legacy of those years has been built in to the domestic and foreign policies of both countries. 2004 Independent (Compact ed.) 20 Apr. (Review section) 13/1 Prototype hospitals whose obsolescence was built in. 2022 Newstex Blogs (Nexis) 8 Apr. The king-sized bed is built-in and custom-made to accommodate the wooden truss behind it. to build out 1. a. transitive. To enlarge or expand (a settlement, etc.) by building; (also) to construct (an architectural feature) so that it protrudes or extends from a wall, etc. ΘΠ society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)] > build outwards jetty1438 jet1632 outbuild1847 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Macc. x. 45 For to bilde out the wallis of Jerusalem; and for to make stronge in cumpas, spensis shuln be ȝouen of the kyngus resoun. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Trompe, a closet, or such a like roome, built out of a wall with a hanging bottome. 1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee xi, in Tales Fashionable Life II. 178 A little skreen of white-washed wall, built out into the room, for the purpose of keeping those who sat at the fire from the blast of the door. 1852 N.-Y. Daily Times 16 Oct. 3/4 These columns..were built with such rapidity that the iron caps were put on, and the architrave built out, before the mortar had become dry and firm. 1993 Collins Compl. DIY Man. (new ed.) iii. 214/2 A bay window is a combination of window frames built out from the face of the building. 2012 B. K. Parent Journey's Middle lxix. 458 They built the town out from the harbor in a horseshoe shape. b. transitive. figurative. To construct or develop (a system of thought, a belief, etc.) from a particular starting point or around a certain concept. Π 1849 Amer. Rev. Jan. 73/2 The Idealists..begin with the consciousness of existence, and from that point build out a system of thought which shall explain the universe. 1902 W. James Varieties Relig. Experience xx. 514 We..build out our religion in the way most congruous with our personal susceptibilities. 1972 W. Morris Toward New Historicism x. 187 It is in response to the apparent dead end of new critical organic theory that he wants to build out a new historicism. 2018 M. K. Gugerty & D. Karlan Goldilocks Challenge (e-book ed.) iii In an ideal world, organizations..would map backward to identify strategies to address that challenge,..and then build out a theory of change before implementing their program. 2. transitive. To obstruct or block (a view, light, etc.) by building; (also) to exclude or eliminate by building. Π 1830 Edinb. Lit. Jrnl. 5 June 328/2 An army of bricklayers is summoned, who raise the wall, and build out the Prince's view. 1848 C. Dickens Dombey & Son lvii. No gracious ray of light is seen to fall on Florence, kneeling at the altar with her timid head bowed down. The Morning luminary is built out, and don't shine there. 1853 C. Brontë Villette I. xii. 205 The ghost must have been built out some ages ago, for there were houses all round now. 2013 Advertiser (Austral.) (Nexis) 9 Oct. It's impossible to build out the view and you'll always have that view over the bay to Boston Island. 3. a. transitive. To use up all available building space in (a place). Cf. buildout n. 1a. Π 1946 Cumberland Argus & Fruitgrowers' Advocate (Parramatta, New S. Wales) 30 Oct. 5/1 It would be a pity if this land was built out, as the people down there have had a wonderful playing area for years. 1992 Chicago Tribune 22 Nov. xvi. 1/6 The suburbs are about built out. This is the future of shopping center development. 2017 Courier Mail (Nexis) 6 May (Commercial Property section) 62 It's set to go from what was an undeveloped area two years ago to being totally built out over the next five to seven years. b. transitive. To complete (a manufacturing project); to produce or deliver (products, esp. vehicles) after completion of such a project. Cf. buildout n. 1b. Π 1954 N.Y. Times 6 Aug. 24/3 During the third quarter we will build out our 1954 models, take our annual inventory and change over our plans to make ready for our new model production. 2021 Yourstory.in (Nexis) 3 Dec. Technology to build out the line of electric scooters. c. transitive. To expand (an aspect of a business); to meet or fulfil the potential or capacity of (a commercial activity or sector). Π 1989 Financial Times 8 June (Survey section) p. iii/5 That makes a US location attractive because it offers the opportunity for building out their customer base by seeking US OEM (original equipment manufacturer) business. 1993 Science 24 Sept. 1788/2 We're going full speed ahead to build out our current capabilities and expand in certain areas. 2011 Wall St. Jrnl. 12 Sept. r2/3 Leaders should..unleash the entrepreneurial energies of our metropolitan engines to build out the clean economy. to build up 1. transitive. To undertake the building of (a city or other settlement); to construct, put up (a building or other structure); = main senses 1a, 1b. Later also more specifically: to construct (a new or improved building or structure) after demolition or a period of deterioration; to rebuild. Also intransitive.In quot. 1841 intransitive in the progressive with passive meaning (cf. sense 2b). ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)] timbera900 workOE betimberOE craftOE buildc1275 lifta1300 stagec1330 upraise1338 wright1338 edifya1340 to make outa1382 to make upa1382 biga1400 housea1400 risea1400 telda1400–50 to work upa1450 redress1481 levy1495 upmake1507 upbuild1513 exstruct?c1550 construct1663 to run up1686 practise1739 to lay up1788 elevate1798 to put up1818 to lay down1851 practicate1851 c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 1537 Þe king..let bulde vp grete tounes, þat were ney adoun ivalle. 1490 W. Caxton tr. Boke yf Eneydos lxv. sig. Lvi^v And of thys cyte ben many in doubte who buylde it vppe. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 26 He..byld vp a bygge towne of þe bare vrthe. 1611 Bible (King James) 2 Chron. xxxii. 5 Hezekiah built up the wall that was broken. 1676 in D. W. Prowse Hist. Newfoundland (1895) viii. 205/2 Capt. Russell forc'd several Masters of shipps..to build up again their trayne houses, themselves had cut down contrary to their order. 1808 Times 22 Sept. Government are expending..great sums in pulling down and building up. 1841 G. Catlin Lett. N. Amer. Indians II. xlvi. 95 A very pretty little town, building up. 1936 A. Gatti Great Mother Forest vii. 87 Every place where there are hotels.., we are doing our best to improve them. Where they cannot be afforded yet, we build up rest-houses. 2004 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 4 Apr. a1 We were planning a couple of years ago to buy some lot, build up a house. 2. figurative. a. transitive. To establish, construct, or develop (something) incrementally or gradually. Also: to intensify or increase gradually or to a high level.With quots. 1529, 1567 cf. to build upon —— 1 at Phrasal verbs 2. In early use often with allusion to the notion of physical construction (see sense 1). ΘΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (transitive)] > increase temperature, volume, etc. to build up1936 to turn up1962 1529 T. More Supplyc. Soulys ii. f. xxix Men abydyng vppon criste & hys very lyuely fayth bylde vp theruppon such good workys as are so good & so pure y^t they be lyke fyne gold. 1567 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. ii. 198 Upon these fewe woordes, M. Hardinge is hable to builde vp his Dimi Communion, his Priuate Masse. 1647 H. Parker Cordiall Answered sig. A 2^v That lawyer..ought to roote himself deeper, before he begins to build up his argument. 1726 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 269 I rejoice that the Lord is building up your family. 1814 W. Wordsworth Excursion iv. 197 So build we up the Being that we are. View more context for this quotation 1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. iii. 62 His fortunes were built up. 1892 Engineer 22 Jan. 65/3 In a few seconds the field is built up to its maximum strength. 1935 Mod. Philol. 33 34 Seneca's ghosts present a series of terrible images for the single end of building up the horror. 1940 Illustr. London News 196 188/2 A theatre which has built up a reputation as a repertory with a first-rate team. 1994 Film Focus Dec. 55/3 Tarantino's script and Scott's direction build up the tension to such a degree that you're almost aching for the pay-off. 2015 Radio Times 20 June (South/West ed.) 95/3 Alicia struggles to build up a new legal business. b. (a) intransitive. To develop, grow, or form gradually or incrementally; (also) to become stronger or more intense; to increase. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (intransitive)] > in intensity or degree waxc897 reforce1490 rise1594 fortify1605 strengthena1616 harden1625 intend1655 thicken1672 exasperate1742 intensify1853 thick1879 to hot up1922 to build up1936 1681 Bp. G. Burnet Serm. preached on Fast-day 39 A superstitious and bloody Princess, who..corrupted the great Men, and the Publick Councils of the Kingdom; so that all that had been building up in twenty five years, was overthrown. 1883 R. Bunn King Henry V 13 That character grows and develops, builds up, from a suitable and proper foundation. 1884 N. S. Keith & P. Neymann tr. H. Schellen Magneto-electric & Dynamo-electric Machines I. iii. 118 The magnetism builds up, in spite of the intermittent character of the currents. 1936 Discovery July 222/2 The sound builds up from silence to strength. 1956 A. L. Rowse Early Churchills ii. 22 Such was the spirit that was building up on either side in this deplorable war. 1968 Listener 5 Dec. 774/2 A further tension builds up between the desire to create space and the desire to fill it. 2014 Observer 23 Mar. 46/3 A large debt has built up as a result. (b) intransitive. With to. Of a sequence of events, performance, etc.: to lead up to a climactic or exciting point with increasing intensity. Of a person or group: to prepare gradually for a significant action or event; to work up to doing something. Cf. build-up n. 2b. Π 1876 St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat 18 Apr. 4/3 The second act is much better, the comic element introduced into it adding to its interest, and the third act builds up to a climax, both musical and dramatic. 1932 Alpha Phi Q. Sept. 396/2 It is all building up to those wonderful three days in September which are Washburn's rush week. 1942 R. Haig-Brown Timber (1993) xxiii. 345 You acted kind of simple, calling a meeting cold that way. You should have built up to it gradual with meetings on the quiet. 2004 Independent 21 June (Review section) 4/1 Now that he'd started, he could not stop. He was either building up to a big confession or having me on. 2006 New Yorker 11 Dec. 94/3 The documentary verisimilitude also allowed scenes to peter out with a blank look or a sigh rather than build up to the American joke-joke-joke crescendo. c. transitive. Originally U.S. To create or develop a positive public image for (a person); to bolster the reputation of, to promote. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > gain credit by [verb (transitive)] > establish or enhance a person's reputation to build up1935 1839 Columbus (Georgia) Sentinel & Herald 3 Oct. 2/3 It is not, nor has it been our purpose, by slander and detraction, to pull down Mr. Smith that we may build up our candidate, Col. Lewis. 1935 S. Lewis It can't happen Here ix. 88 Sarason had, as it was scientifically called, been ‘building up’ Senator Windrip for seven years before his nomination as President. 1944 A. Jacob Traveller's War xii. 213 He set out to build himself up in the eyes of an army that had tasted defeat. 2015 Swimming Times Apr. 78/1 The British press..were waiting for me to fail. In this country we are fantastic at building up our athletes or film stars or whoever—but building them up and building them up and waiting until something goes wrong and then we pull their wings off. 3. transitive. To strengthen (a person, a soul, etc.) in faith or virtue; to be of spiritual benefit to; = edify v. 3a. Cf. main sense 8. ΘΠ society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > be or cause to be spiritual [verb (transitive)] > instruct or improve bindc975 confirma1300 enhancec1325 edify1340 exhancea1450 enlightena1500 build1526 mounta1546 spiritualize1596 sanctify1597 1532 T. More Confut. Tyndales Answere i. p. xxxv Yt wyll be great besynes and mych a do to edyfye and buyld vp the soules of such a sorte, which the deuyll hathe by the blaste of his mouth throwen downe so depe and frusshed all to fytters. 1611 Bible (King James) Acts xx. 32 I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you vp, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. a1633 W. Ames Substance Christian Relig. (1659) xxxi. 197 This servantship or Ministry is a moral meanes of building up and confirming the faithfull. 1710 J. Norris Treat. Christian Prudence v. 202 To build up men in Faith and Holiness of Life, that which we properly mean by Edification. 1853 Edinb. Christian Mag. 4 327/2 Family worship..builds up in the faith, and refreshes the spirit of those who are well-informed. 2015 R. Graham & M. L. Graham Raising God's Girl (e-book ed.) I know that my parent's correction is meant to build me up in Christ, not tear me down. 4. transitive. With into. To assemble or put together (parts or materials) in order to construct something; to work up or make (raw materials or a basic component) into a finished form or product. Cf. to build into —— 1 at Phrasal verbs 2.In quot. a1626 in figurative context. Π a1626 A. Lake Serm. St. Maries Oxf. 127 in Sermons (1629) Know you not (saith he) that your bodyes are the Temples of the Holy Ghost? So that no question can be made of either part of our person, both are liuing stones, and built vp into a Spirituall House. 1758 W. Borlase Nat. Hist. Cornwall viii. 88 We make all our corn into arrish-mows, the sheaves being built up into a regular, solid cone. 1851 Knight's Excursion Compan. ix. 9 The immensely long pieces of timber destined to be built up into the form of a mast. 1982 JET Joint Undertaking (ECSC/EEC/EURATOM) 8 The eight inner poloidal field coils were built up into a stack. 2013 Financial Times 13 Apr. (Weekend Suppl.) 48/3 I was back in the studio with Marr, to lacquer the frame and build it up into a complete bicycle. 5. a. transitive. To compose or form (a natural structure or organism); to cause (such a structure) to develop or grow. Cf. sense 5c. Π 1697 ‘Philaret’ Challenge iii. 29 That which is Redundant, or Deficient, is said to be Monstrous or deform'd, not that 'tis so in it self, but in respect of its deviation from the common Standard, that nature proposes to its self to build up the Body of Man in. 1843 J. A. Smith Product. Farming 137 Hence the reason why bodies can be nourished and built up upon food comparatively poor in nitrogen. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. §1. 2 An amethyst is a crystal built up from particles of silica. 1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxxi. 550 His theory that atoms are built up of electrons arranged in shells around a central nucleus. 2022 Daily Monitor (Nexis) 21 Mar. Stretching builds up muscle, increases flexibility, and promotes circulation. b. intransitive. Of a substance, deposit, etc.: to accumulate, collect; to increase in amount or extent. Π 1863 Notes & Queries 19 Dec. (end matter) (advt.) Holloway's Ointment..builds up from the bottom of the wound with sound and healthy granulations. 1895 Proc. 4th Ann. Meeting Amer. Internat. Assoc. Railway Superintendents 62 Thick paints..should be avoided, as they scale up from the iron, and rust underneath builds up. 1910 S. G. Camp Fishing Kits & Equipm. v. 59 See that the spool is narrow so that, when reeling in, the line will build up on the reel rapidly. 1991 S. Gibson & R. Gibson Homoeopathy for Everyone (new ed.) viii. 120 These chemicals tend to build up in the soil and are absorbed by our food plants. 2022 Newstex Blogs (Nexis) 11 Apr. Vacuuming frequently on areas that receive more footfall will help to stop dirt building up and getting trodden into your floor. 6. transitive. To obstruct or block (a doorway, window, etc.) by building.Cf. to board up at board v. 7a, to brick up 2 at brick v. Phrasal verbs. Π 1700 Flying Post 19 Sept. Our Magistrates have built up the Gate on the North-side of the City, called, The New Port. 1850 Amer. Whig. Rev. Dec. 646/2 Individual Irish families have built up the doors and windows of their houses, converted them into overground vaults, and died therein of want and cold. 2015 Notes & Rec. Royal Soc. 69 123 Orders were given for the ‘iron stenchers’ to be removed from the windows of the lower storey and the windows built up with stone and lime. 7. intransitive. U.S. Cards. Esp. in games of patience: to place a card on one of the next lowest denomination, e.g. a six on a five. Cf. to build down 2 at Phrasal verbs 1. ΘΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > play at cards [verb (intransitive)] > actions or tactics pass1599 pluck1606 pulla1625 to play high1640 to follow suit1643 to play at forsat1674 lead1677 overdrawc1805 stand1813 retract1823 underplay1850 to hold up1879 to throw in one's hand1893 build1901 build-down1983 1868 W. B. Dick Mod. Pocket Hoyle 179 When a player cannot, or does not choose to pair, combine, or build up, he must place a card upon the board face upwards. 1901 Munsey's Mag. Mar. 871/2 To build down..is to place a card upon one of the next higher denomination... To build up..is to do just the opposite—that is, to place an eight on a seven. 2004 F. Parodi Big Bk. Solitaire 184 Build up on the Ace regardless of suit, placing another Ace on top after you reach the King. PV2. With prepositions in specialized senses. to build into —— 1. transitive. To work up or make (raw materials or a basic component) into (a finished form or product); to assemble or put together (parts or materials) in order to construct (something). Also figurative. Cf. to build up 4 at Phrasal verbs 1. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > fashion, shape, or form > work up edify1382 builda1425 to erect into1670 manufacture1683 society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > build or construct [verb (transitive)] > build or construct by fitting parts together reareOE raisec1175 build1884 a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Gen. ii. 22 The Lord God bildide the rib..in to a womman. 1629 T. Hobbes tr. Thucydides Eight Bks. Peloponnesian Warre iii. 155 That sixteene foot of space which was betwixt them [sc. walls], was disposed and built into Cabines for the Watchmen. 1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World i. 109 A great heavy Boat, which..seem'd to have been a large Ship's long Boat, built into a Kind of Yatch. 1884 Manch. Examiner 18 Sept. 4/6 He collects the spoils of many sessions..like a skilful architect, builds them into a fair and seemly edifice. 1925 E. Sitwell Poetry & Crit. 23 Miss Stein..breaks down the predestined groups of words..and builds them into new and vital shapes. 2006 R. A. W. Rhodes et al. Oxf. Handbk. Polit. Inst. xix. 367 When Moses organized the tribes of Israel for their departure from Pharaoh's rule, he organized them into a simple bureaucracy as he sought to build them into a new nation. 2. a. transitive. To incorporate (something) as an integral part or component of (a structure, manufactured object, etc.). Π 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. v. 133 The Roof of it is flat, consisting of Nine Stones,..the other two at each end, appear not to be above two Foot broad a piece, but the reason is because the other half of them is built into the Wall. 1808 W. Scott Marmion Notes p. lxxvi The Hare Stane, a high stone, now built into the wall, on the left hand of the high way leading towards Braid. 1879 Spons' Encycl. Manuf. I. 290 The hopper..is built into the arch. 1956 A. H. Compton Atomic Quest 326 Better control of the amount of rubber that is built into tires. 2022 Spy (Nexis) 26 Apr. The interior storage space is large and there's a child safety hinge built into the lid to keep it from slamming shut. b. transitive. figurative. To make (something) an inherent, integral, or permanent characteristic or element of (something else). Π 1854 Fife Herald 1 June Great iniquity must be built into the present system. 1874 Fortn. Rev. Dec. 730 By that process of Natural Selection all the actions of our ancestors are built into us and form our character. 1954 Milbank Memorial Fund Q. 32 388 Two types of data loss are built into this present analysis. 1996 M. D. Russell Sparrow xv. 140 They were all being cross-trained, to build redundancy into the final crew of eight. 2019 Oxf. Mail (Nexis) 21 Sept. A reduction in cars on our roads will create a better environment for people to be able to build physical activity into their daily lives. to build on —— 1. transitive. To found or develop (something abstract, such as a system of thought or belief, an argument, a reputation, etc.) on (a basis); to base or ground (something) on. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > initiating or causing to begin > initiate [verb (transitive)] > found or establish > in or on something to stand on ——eOE fastc1275 found1390 to stand upon ——a1393 build1528 relya1633 found1667 base1776 premise1881 1562 J. Veron Stronge Battery Inuoc. Saintes f. 58^v It was the Lordes Instytution, buylded on his woorde, and thorough faythe obeyed of the Hebrewes. 1658 R. Allestree Pract. Christian Graces; or, Whole Duty of Man x. §1. 206 I shall..build all the particular duties..on those two general ones. 1689 J. Locke Two Treat. Govt. i. ix. 87 Sovereignty built on ‘property’..comes to nothing. 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 253. ¶4 The Fame that is built on Candour and Ingenuity. 1781 J. Moore View Soc. Italy (1790) I. vii. 70 The independence of Venice was not built on usurpation. 1837 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (ed. 3) I. vi. 90 A Christian's faith and obedience is built on all this. 1987 Wall St. Jrnl. 4 June 16 (advt.) Our reputation has been built on solid repeat business. 2020 Malay Mail (Nexis) 30 Apr. He builds his argument on fake news and videos posted by cyber troopers on social media. 2. intransitive. To use (something) as a basis for a belief, argument, etc., or for further development. Also (esp. in early use): to rely on, have confidence in (cf. to build upon —— 2 at Phrasal verbs 2).Sometimes with allusion to the notion of physical construction (see sense 2a), esp. in early use. Π 1563 Bp. J. Pilkington Burnynge of Paules Church sig. H.iii^v Because we say and proue oure faithe and relygion to bee the best and auncienst, we bylde not on counsels as they doe, but on Goddds [sic] worde, which is aboue the counsel. 1594 T. Lodge Wounds Ciuill War iii. i. sig. D3^v The trustfull man that builds on trothles vowes. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 (1623) i. iii. 89 An habitation giddy, and vnsure Hath he that buildeth on the vulgar heart. 1756 Satirical Rev. Manifold Falshoods conc. Earthquake 84 The raw unprovable Hypotheses, which certain modern reasoners build on. 1816 Eclectic Rev. Jan. 27 An attempt to build on other foundations than these, we cannot but apprehend would be weakening the evidence of truth. 1983 Sci. Amer. Feb. 41/1 One then builds on the result of the classical calculation by correcting it for quantum-mechanical fluctuations. 2005 Dunoon Observer & Argyllshire Standard 15 July 2/1 Work goes on apace to build on what was a very successful 2004 event. to build upon —— 1. transitive. To found or develop (something abstract, such as a system of thought or belief, an argument, a reputation, etc.) on (a basis); to base or ground (something) upon; = to build on —— 1 at Phrasal verbs 2. ΘΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > initiating or causing to begin > initiate [verb (transitive)] > found or establish > in or on something to stand on ——eOE fastc1275 found1390 to stand upon ——a1393 build1528 relya1633 found1667 base1776 premise1881 ?1527 tr. Copy of Lett. wherin Kyng Henry VIII made Answere vnto M. Luther sig. C.iiii For what charite bylde you vpon fayth, whan ye teche that faythe alone without good workes suffyseth. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. vii. 25 Our advanced beliefs are not to be built upon dictates. 1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 28 The Theory..is built wholly upon a false supposition. 1766 T. Leland Let. 9 Jan. in Earl Fitzwilliam & R. Bourke Corr. Edmund Burke (1844) I. 95 You will not, I am certain, build your reputation there, upon a single, studied, manufactured piece of eloquence. 1828 Missionary Reg. July 330/1 A part of this pride of family is built upon its having remained, in all its branches, attached to its Religion. 1989 S. Eldred-Grigg Siren Celia ii. 41 It appears a trifling matter to build happiness upon. 2003 Classical Rev. 53 12 Although she builds an argument upon this claim that Orestes hesitates, she does not in fact establish that he does hesitate. 2. intransitive. In earlier use often: to rely on, have confidence in (a person or thing). Later usually: to use (something) as a basis for a belief, argument, etc., or for further development. Cf. to build on —— 2 at Phrasal verbs 2. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > belief, trust, confidence > trust [verb (intransitive)] hopec888 believeOE trowc1000 levec1175 strusta1250 trista1250 trestc1275 traista1300 affyc1330 assurec1374 restc1384 sover1488 confidea1525 faith1555 relyc1571 build1573 1573 G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 27 I..tould him I wuld bilde uppon him. 1577 W. Fulke Overthrow & Confut. Doctr. Purgatory ii. vi. 262 in Two Treat. against Papistes I haue often saide we deferre nothing to his authoritie, who was both in a corrupt time, and he himselfe a corrupter of religion by building vpon fables and authorities of men. 1630 P. Massinger Renegado iv. iii. sig. K2 Heauen..will not suffer you to want a man, To doe that sacred office, build vpon it. 1643 J. Swan Speculum Mundi (ed. 2) ii. §3. 33 I find therefore little in Josephus concerning this to build upon. 1740 S. Richardson Pamela I. xxxi. 144 I am deny'd..to go to Church, as I had built upon I might. 1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 2 222 Whether or not that evidence is admissible to build upon. 1876 E. Mellor Priesthood vii. 323 The next passage upon which the Romanists and Ritualists build. 1993 Freetime 9 June 5/4 [The band] Poison are ready to build upon one of the most coveted fan bases in all of rock 'n' roll. 2015 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 5 Nov. 62/3 They called the strategy Primary Health Care, and it was intended to build upon the networks of health clinics and hospitals established in former French, British, and Portuguese colonies. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2022). < n.a1387v.OE
随便看	mosquitocarried mosquitoes mosquitoey mosquitofree mosquitoinfested mosquitoish mosquitonetted mosquitoproof mosquitos mosquitothin moss moss agate moss animal moss animalcule moss bank moss bass moss bee moss boat moss campion moss carder moss carder bee moss crêpe moss flow moss green moss grieve

buildn.

Compounds

buildv.

Phrases

Phrasal verbs