/struk"cheuhr/ , n. , v. , structured, structuring .
n.
1. mode of building, construction, or organization; arrangement of parts, elements, or constituents: a pyramidal structure.
2. something built or constructed, as a building, bridge, or dam.
3. a complex system considered from the point of view of the whole rather than of any single part: the structure of modern science.
4. anything composed of parts arranged together in some way; an organization.
5. the relationship or organization of the component parts of a work of art or literature: the structure of a poem.
6. Biol. mode of organization; construction and arrangement of tissues, parts, or organs.
7. Geol.
a. the attitude of a bed or stratum or of beds or strata of sedimentary rocks, as indicated by the dip and strike.
b. the coarser composition of a rock, as contrasted with its texture.
8. Chem. the manner in which atoms in a molecule are joined to each other, esp. in organic chemistry where molecular arrangement is represented by a diagram or model.
9. Sociol.
a. the system or complex of beliefs held by members of a social group.
b. the system of relations between the constituent groups of a society.
c. the relationship between or the interrelated arrangement of the social institutions of a society or culture, as of mores, marriage customs, or family.
d. the pattern of relationships, as of status or friendship, existing among the members of a group or society.
10. the pattern of organization of a language as a whole or of arrangements of linguistic units, as phonemes, morphemes or tagmemes, within larger units.
v.t.
11. to give a structure, organization, or arrangement to; construct a systematic framework for.
[ 1400-50; late ME structura, equiv. to struct ( us ) (ptp. of struere to put together) + -ura -URE ]
Syn. 1. system, form, configuration. 2. See building .