structure

noun, verb — 9 senses

structure

noun

UK /ˈstɹʌk(t)ʃə/ · US /ˈstɹʌkt͡ʃɚ/

Etymology From Middle French structure, from Latin structūra (“a fitting together, adjustment, building, erection, a building, edifice, structure”), from struere, past participle structus (“pile up, arrange, assemble, build”). Compare construct, instruct, destroy, etc.

8 senses
  1. 1A cohesive whole built up of distinct parts.
  2. 2The underlying shape of a solid.
  3. 3The overall form or organization of something.
  4. 4A set of rules defining behaviour.
  5. 5Several pieces of data treated as a unit.
  6. 6Underwater terrain or objects (such as a dead tree or a…
  7. 7A body, such as a political party, with a cohesive…
  8. 8A set along with a collection of finitary functions and…
1

A cohesive whole built up of distinct parts.

  • The birds had built an amazing structure out of sticks and various discarded items.
  • The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
1 more example
  • Built in the 1980s, the country’s Scott Base consists of 12 structures that officials want replaced by three large, interconnected buildings, plus a separate helicopter hangar.2019 September 26, Gianluca Mezzofiore, “Wanted: A design team for a building project at Earth’s most remote location – Antarctica”, in CNN:
2

The underlying shape of a solid.

  • He studied the structure of her face.
3

The overall form or organization of something.

  • The structure of a sentence.
  • The structure of the society was still a mystery.
1 more example
  • Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story.2012 March 23, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2013, page 106:
4

A set of rules defining behaviour.

  • For some, the structure of school life was oppressive.
5

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Several pieces of data treated as a unit.

  • This structure contains both date and timezone information.
6

Fishing, Hobbies, Lifestyle Underwater terrain or objects (such as a dead tree or a submerged car) that tend to attract fish

  • There's lots of structure to be fished along the west shore of the lake; the impoundment submerged a town there when it was built.
7

A body, such as a political party, with a cohesive purpose or outlook.

  • The South African leader went off to consult with the structures.
8

Human sciences, Logic, Mathematics, Philosophy, Sciences A set along with a collection of finitary functions and relations.

Derived terms
91 termsaccessory gonadal structure, aerostructure, algebraic structure, antistructure, apostructure, ball-and-pillow structure, band structure, bandstructure, biostructure, bone structure, capital structure, chemical structure, control structure, costructure, cyberstructure, cytostructure, data structure, deep structure, destructure, differential structure, dramatic structure, echostructure, eigenstructure, endostructure, exostructure, fine structure, fine-structure constant, fine structure constant, flame structure, geostructure, glycostructure, heterostructure, histostructure, homostructure, hyperfine structure, hyperstructure, infostructure, isostructure, Lewis structure, magnetostructure, Markush structure, mathematical structure, megastructure, mega-structure, mega structure, mesostructure, metastructure, metrical structure, metric structure, misstructure, monostructural, morphostructure, nanostructure, narrative structure, neurostructure, nonstructure, organizational breakdown structure, overstructure, paleostructure, periodic structure, phrase structure, playstructure, play structure, power structure, prestructure, primary structure, product breakdown structure, protostructure, quantized electronic structure, quaternary structure, secondary structure, stereostructure, structome, structronics, structurable, structure-activity relationship, structureless, structurely, structure sheaf, structurist, structurization, structurize, structurome, suprastructure, surface structure, technostructure, tertiary structure, ultrastructure, understructure, vestigial structure, Weaire-Phelan structure

structure

verb

Etymology From Middle French structure, from Latin structūra (“a fitting together, adjustment, building, erection, a building, edifice, structure”), from struere, past participle structus (“pile up, arrange, assemble, build”). Compare construct, instruct, destroy, etc.

1

To give structure to; to arrange.

  • I'm trying to structure my time better so I'm not always late.
  • I've structured the deal to limit the amount of money we can lose.
1 more example
  • Next, let’s structure (42c) The girl walked. The verb walked is like slept: an intransitive verb V₀. Its dependent is a subject noun, girl. The noun girl has as its dependent the determiner the, […]2025, Edward A. F. Gibson, “Dependency Grammar” (chapter 3), in Syntax: A Cognitive Approach, MIT Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 57:
Derived terms
data-structured coupling, log-structured, permission structure, self-structured, structured illumination, structured illumination microscopy
Related terms
infrastructure, macrostructure, microstructure, restructure, structural, structuralism, structuralist, structured, substructure, superstructure, unstructured

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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