1
[ verb ] make by combining materials and parts

Synonyms

construct make

Examples

: "this little pig made his house out of straw" "Some eccentric constructed an electric brassiere warmer"

Used in print

(Chicago Daily Tribune...)

The President , in a special message to Congress , tied_in with his aged care plan requests for large federal grants to finance medical and dental scholarships , build 20 new medical and 20 new dental_schools , and expand child health_care and general medical research .

Apart from the aged care plan the President 's most ambitious and costly proposals were for federal scholarships , and grants to build or enlarge medical and dental_schools .

For medical research he asked a 20 million dollar a year increase , from 30 to 50 millions , in matching grants for building research facilities .

(The New York Times,...)

The state Public_Works Department is accused of having spent $ 8555 to build a private beach for a state judge on his waterfront property .

It also provides_for funds to clear slums and help colleges build dormitories .

2
[ verb ] form or accumulate steadily

Examples

"Resistance to the manager's plan built up quickly" "Pressure is building up at the Indian-Pakistani border"

Used in print

(Saturday Review, 44: 15...)

The collection may be in an existing library , or it may be built up in a central collection .

(The New York Times,...)

According to the original program , Premier_Khrushchev expected the millions looking toward the Kremlin this morning to be filled with_admiration or rage - depending_upon individual or national politics - because of the `` bold program for building communism in our time '' which the Congress will adopt .

(The Christian Science Monitor,...)

But like all despots , as he builds his following from among the gullible , he grows more threatening toward those who won n't follow - such solid citizens as Doc_Raccoon ; Judge_Black , the vegetarian black snake ; and the eagle , who leads the_bird community when he is not too busy in Washington posing for fifty-cent_pieces .

(The New York Times...)

The `` Suite of Old_Russian Dances '' that opened that inaugural program with the slow and modest entrance of the maidens and built steadily into typical Moiseyev vigor and warmth ; the amusing `` Yurochka '' , in_which a hard-to-please young_man is given his come-uppance ; the lovely ( and of_course vigorous ) `` Polyanka '' or `` The Meadow '' ; the three Moldavian dances entitled `` Zhok '' ; the sweet and funny little dance about potato planting called `` Bul ' ba '' ; and the hilarious picture of social life in an earlier day called `` City_Quadrille '' are all just_as good as one remembers them to have been , and they are welcome back .

Related terms

develop develop build_up

3
[ verb ] build or establish something abstract

Synonyms

establish

Examples

"build a reputation"

Used in print

(John R. Sargent, "Where To Aim Your Planning for Bigger...)

Average manufacturer frequently has helped build private brand business , delivering largely the same qualities and styles in private brand merchandise as in branded .

(Philip Reaves, "Who Rules the Marriage Bed?"...)

Society here and abroad has been built around the dominating male - even the Bible appears to endorse the concept .

Related terms

make

4
[ noun ] constitution of the human body

Used in print

(Mr. America, 4:6...)

Rarer still is a Mr._America or Mr._Universe of true Herculean build .

5
[ verb ] improve the cleansing action of; build detergents"

Used in print

(The Miami Herald,...)

He is dedicated_to building the nation 's strength and , as are all West Germans , to a free Berlin and to reunion with captive East_Germany .

Related terms

better chemistry

6
[ verb ] be engaged in building

Examples

"These architects build in interesting and new styles"

Related terms

create architecture construct

7
[ verb ] increase or strengthen gradually

Examples

"This investment is building interest" "We worked up courage"

Related terms

increase

8
[ verb ] order, supervise, or finance the construction of

Examples

"The government is building new schools in this state"

Related terms

oversee construction

9
[ verb ] found or ground

Examples

"build a defense on nothing but the accused person's reputation"

Related terms

establish

10
[ verb ] give form to, according to a plan

Examples

"build a modern nation" "build a million-dollar business"

Related terms

develop

11
[ verb ] develop and grow

Examples

"Suspense was building right from the beginning of the opera"

Related terms

intensify

12
[ noun ] alternative names for the body of a human being

Examples

"Leonardo studied the human body" "he has a strong physique" "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"

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