structure
noun
struc·ture
| \ ˈstrək-chər
\
\
Definition of structure
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: the action of building : construction
2a
: something (such as a building) that is constructed
b
: something arranged in a definite pattern of organization
a rigid totalitarian structure— J. L. Hess leaves and other plant structures
3
: manner of construction : makeup
Gothic in structure
4a
: the arrangement of particles or parts in a substance or body
soil structure molecular structure
b
: organization of parts as dominated by the general character of the whole
economic structure personality structure
c
: coherent form or organization
tried to give some structure to the children's lives
5
: the aggregate of elements of an entity in their relationships to each other
the structure of a language
structure
verb
structured;
structuring\ ˈstrək-chə-riŋ
, ˈstrək-shriŋ \
, ˈstrək-shriŋ \
Definition of structure (Entry 2 of 2)
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Other Words from structure
Noun
structureless
\ ˈstrək-chər-ləs
\
adjective
\
adjective
structurelessness
\ ˈstrək-chər-ləs-nəs
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of structure in a Sentence
Noun
They studied the compound's molecular structure. The film had a simple narrative structure. the structure of a plant the social structure of a college campus changes to the company's power structure The structure was damaged by fire. Children need a lot of structure in their lives.Verb
She structured the essay chronologically.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Gravitational waves could help with the search for cosmic strings—putative enormous, superdense filamentary structures in space. — The Economist, "Gravitational astronomy proves its maturity," 22 Aug. 2019 The most recent estimate is that 3,960 properties in the county, including 1,083 occupied structures in Detroit, will be auctioned. — John Gallagher, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit can't cherry-pick statistics, ignore inconvenient facts," 21 Aug. 2019 No, really, that crazy structure in your wildest fantasies is a real thing, and it's actually called the American Dream. — Elizabeth Gulino, House Beautiful, "The American Dream Mega Mall Is Opening Up Right Outside of New York City This Fall," 19 Aug. 2019 Smallmouth bass are being caught around rocky structure in 15 to 25 feet of water. — D'arcy Egan, cleveland.com, "Lake Erie’s fish of the future have arrived: Aug. 16 Fishing Report," 16 Aug. 2019 The role of automation is also changing the structure of work, perhaps in favor of women Automation has squeezed out many middle-skill jobs, moving more workers either into low- or high-skill occupations. — Michelle Cheng, Quartz at Work, "The US industries where female representation is rising fastest," 14 Aug. 2019 Identify and analyze figurative language and literary structures in biblical texts. — Billy Kobin, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky high school drops 'Bible Literacy' course over constitutional concerns," 9 Aug. 2019 Attendees will learn the principles used by firefighters in suppressing wildland fires and protecting structures in the WUI. — Ramona Sentinel, "Workshop to focus on wildfires in high-risk areas," 9 Aug. 2019 Participants will learn the principles used by firefighters to suppress wildland fires and protect structures in the Wildland Urban Interface. — Laura Groch, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Free wildfire safety workshops start Saturday," 2 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Bright barriers Most bacteria can be easily divided into one of two main groups based on how their cell walls are structured, which in turn can be determined by how the cells take up certain dyes. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "How a new antibiotic destroys extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis," 16 Aug. 2019 The Gunners have been linked with the Scotland international for the last month or so but had a number of bids turned down due to Celtic's displeasure at how the £25m deal was structured. — SI.com, "Arsenal Confirm Signing of Kieran Tierney From Celtic for £25m," 8 Aug. 2019 State lawmakers there have grumbled about how the attorney general structured the deals. — Eric Heisig, cleveland.com, "Power struggle between attorneys general, local governments on display in opioid litigation," 6 Aug. 2019 What are your impressions of how Matt Nagy has structured this kicking competition? — Rich Campbell And Dan Wiederer, chicagotribune.com, "Q&A: Elliott Fry and Eddy Pineiro interview for the Bears' highly publicized kicker vacancy," 27 July 2019 That wasn’t how the piece initially was structured, though. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "San Diego Rep’s world-premiere musical ‘House of Dreams’ tells the story of a legendary L.A. hit factory," 20 July 2019 But most details of how the new edition will be structured have yet to be released. — Steve Karnowski And Balint Szalai, Detroit Free Press, "Many Michigan farmers found loopholes to squeeze more cash from Trump aid program," 6 July 2019 But most details of how the new edition will be structured have yet to be released. — latimes.com, "Some big farms collect big checks from Trump aid package," 5 July 2019 The law was passed last month after lawmakers openly grumbled about how Attorney General Mike Hunter structured the state’s $270 million settlement with Purdue Pharmaceuticals. — USA TODAY, "Summer snow, yellow jacket super nests, laundered cat: News from around our 50 states," 26 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'structure.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for structure
structure
noun
English Language Learners Definition of structure
(Entry 1 of 2)
: the way that something is built, arranged, or organized
: the way that a group of people are organized
: something (such as a house, tower, bridge, etc.) that is built by putting parts together and that usually stands on its own
structure
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of structure (Entry 2 of 2)
: to arrange or organize (something) in a particular way
See the full definition for structure in the English Language Learners Dictionary