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construct

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Definition of construct

verb

Pronunciation: /kənˈstrʌkt/
[with object]
  • build or make (something, typically a building, road, or machine):a company that constructs oil rigs
  • form (an idea or theory) by bringing together various conceptual elements:poetics should construct a theory of literary discourse
  • Grammar form (a sentence) according to grammatical rules: these rules tell us how to construct a grammatical sentence in a given language
  • Geometry draw or delineate (a geometrical figure) accurately to given conditions: construct a square equal in area to a given circle

noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒnstrʌkt/
  • an idea or theory containing various conceptual elements, typically one considered to be subjective and not based on empirical evidence:history is largely an ideological construct
  • Linguistics a group of words forming a phrase: the appropriateness of the grammatical construct is illustrated
  • a physical thing which is deliberately built or formed: a transgenic construct

Derivatives

constructor

noun

Origin:

late Middle English: from Latin construct- 'heaped together, built', from the verb construere, from con- 'together' + struere 'pile, build'

construct in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of construct in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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