con ‧ struc ‧ tion S3 W2 AC /kənˈstrʌkʃ ə n/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ construction , ↑ reconstruction , ↑ constructor , ↑ construct ; verb : ↑ construct , ↑ reconstruct ]
1 . BUILDING SOMETHING [uncountable] the process of building things such as houses, bridges, roads etc
construction of
the construction of a new airport
under construction (=being built)
The hotel is currently under construction.
a road construction project
construction workers
2 . MAKING SOMETHING FROM MANY PARTS [uncountable] the process of making something using many parts:
Work out the exact design before you start construction.
3 . WAY SOMETHING IS MADE [uncountable] the materials used to build or make something, or its design and structure:
The houses were partly timber in construction.
External doors should be of robust construction.
4 . A BUILDING/STRUCTURE [countable] formal something that has been built:
a modern construction
5 . GRAMMAR [countable] the way in which words are put together in a sentence, phrase etc:
difficult grammatical constructions
6 . IDEAS/KNOWLEDGE [uncountable] the process of forming something from knowledge or ideas:
the construction of sociological theory
7 . put a construction on something formal to think that a statement has a particular meaning or that something was done for a particular reason:
The judge put an entirely different construction on his remarks.
—constructional adjective
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ construction + NOUN
▪ the construction industry
The construction industry had a hard time during the recession.
▪ a construction company/firm
It’s the largest construction company in Mexico.
▪ a construction worker
Thousands of construction workers are out of work.
▪ construction work
Construction work on the new road is expected to take two years.
▪ a construction site (=an area where something is being built)
Safety is very important on a construction site.
▪ a construction project/programme
There are always a lot of large construction projects in Dubai.
▪ construction materials
expensive construction materials like cement and steel
▪ construction costs
The total construction costs will reach £125 million.
■ verbs
▪ be under construction (=be being built)
A new road is currently under construction.
▪ begin/start construction
Developers are planning to begin construction on a new housing project.
▪ complete construction
We expect to complete construction in January.