build ‧ ing S1 W1 /ˈbɪldɪŋ/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ build , ↑ builder , ↑ building ; verb : ↑ build , ↑ rebuild ; adjective : ↑ built ]
1 . [countable] a structure such as a house, church, or factory, that has a roof and walls:
The offices are on the top two floors of the building.
a farmhouse and other farm buildings
2 . [uncountable] the process or business of building things ⇨ construction :
There is a limited supply of land for building.
stone, timber, and other building materials
building of
The enquiry recommended the building of a tunnel.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ put up a building ( also erect a building formal )
They keep pulling down the old buildings and putting up new ones.
▪ pull down/knock down/tear down a building
All the medieval buildings were torn down.
▪ demolish/destroy a building (=pull it down)
Permission is needed to demolish listed buildings.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + building
▪ a tall building
The park was surrounded by tall buildings.
▪ a high-rise building (=very tall with many floors)
a New York high-rise building
▪ a low building
That low building is a stable block.
▪ an office/school/hospital etc building
Our office building is just ten minutes’ walk from where I live.
▪ a public building
The town has a number of interesting public buildings, including the old town hall.
▪ a beautiful building ( also a fine/handsome building British English )
The old station was a fine building, but has sadly been demolished.
▪ an impressive/imposing building
the impressive buildings around the town’s central square
▪ a brick/stone/wooden building
The farmhouse is a long stone building about a century old.
▪ a two-storey/three-storey etc building (=with two, three etc floors)
Our villa was a delightful two-storey building.
▪ a single-storey/one-storey building (=with only one floor)
▪ a historic building (=an old building of historical interest)
Most of the historic buildings are from the 18th century.
▪ a listed building British English (=a historic building that is protected by a government order)
The school is actually a listed building.
▪ a derelict building (=empty and in very bad condition)
Near the canal there are a number of derelict buildings.
▪ a dilapidated building (=in bad condition)
He rented an apartment at the top of a dilapidated building in Paris.
▪ a ramshackle building ( also a tumbledown building British English ) (=old and almost falling down)
The farm was surrounded by tumbledown buildings.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ building a structure such as a house, church, or factory, that has a roof and walls:
The college needs money to pay for new buildings.
▪ property formal a building or piece of land, or both together - used especially when talking about buying and selling buildings or land:
The next property they looked at was too small.
|
The company received permission to build six residential properties on the land.
▪ premises formal the buildings and land that a shop, restaurant, company etc uses:
You are not allowed to drink alcohol on the premises.
|
The bread is baked on the premises.
▪ complex a group of buildings, or a large building with many parts, used for a particular purpose:
The town has one of the best leisure complexes in the country.
|
a luxury apartment complex
▪ development a group of new buildings that have all been planned and built together on the same piece of land:
a new housing development
|
a huge industrial development
▪ block especially British English a large tall building that contains apartments or offices, or is part of a school, university, or hospital:
an office block
|
a block of flats
|
a tower block (=a very tall building - often used disapprovingly)
|
My next lecture is in the science block.
▪ facility especially American English a place or building used for a particular activity or industry:
a research facility on campus
▪ edifice formal a large building, especially one that is tall and impressive - a very formal use:
Their head office was an imposing edifice.
▪ structure formal something that has been made to stand upright - used especially when talking about buildings:
The stone arch is one of the town’s oldest existing structures.
|
an immense barn-like structure
|
Mogul calls this building, designed by Donald and John Parkinson in 1928, ‘the most important structure in Los Angeles of the 20th century.’