infrastructure
nounUK /ˈɪnfɹəˌstɹʌkt͡ʃə/ · CA, US /ˈɪnfɹəˌstɹʌkt͡ʃɚ/
Etymology Borrowed from French infrastructure, equivalent to infra- + structure.
1
Mathematics, Sciences, Systems theory An underlying base or foundation for a building, organization, or system.
- Near-synonyms: understructure, underpinnings, underbuilding, underframework
- The parasitic tyranny's infrastructure depends on secrecy in order to be effective.
2
The facilities, services and installations needed for the functioning of a community or society.
- Meronyms: (literally, large objects and portions thereof) structures, substructures, understructures, superstructures
- If we don't spend money to maintain our infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, water mains, sewers, and electrical grids, then it will begin to fail us.
2 more examples
- Infrastructure: It's our roads, bridges, dams, levees, airports, power grids... basically, anything that can be destroyed in an action movie... The problem is, though, when our infrastructure is not being destroyed by robots and/or saved by Bruce Willis we tend to find it a bit boring.2015, Tim Carvell [et al.], “Infrastructure”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 2, episode 4, John Oliver (actor), Warner Bros. Television, via HBO:
- About $7.4 billion will be allocated to states, tribes and territories for 2022 – the first-year allotment of nearly $44 billion in total SRF funding over the next five years from the infrastructure law, according to an EPA fact sheet.2021 December 2, Liz Stark, “EPA urges states to target billions in new water infrastructure funding to historically underserved communities”, in CNN, archived from the original on 18 Jun 2022:
- Derived terms
- applistructure, cyberinfrastructure, e-infrastructure, infrastructural, infrastructured, non-infrastructure, noninfrastructure