construct

1 of 2

verb

con·​struct kən-ˈstrəkt 

constructed; constructing; constructs

transitive verb

1

: to make or form by combining or arranging parts or elements : build

construct a bridge

also : contrive, devise

construct a plan

2

: to draw (a geometrical figure) with suitable instruments and under specified conditions

Construct a regular hexagon with sides 3 inches long.

3

: to set in logical order

constructability noun

or less commonly constructibility

kən-ˌstrək-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

constructable adjective

or constructible

kən-ˈstrək-tə-bəl 

constructor

kən-ˈstrək-tər 

noun

construct

2 of 2

noun

con·​struct ˈkän-ˌstrəkt 

1

: something constructed by the mind: such as

a

: a theoretical entity

… the deductive study of abstract constructs …

—Daniel J. Boorstin

b

: a working hypothesis or concept

The unconscious was a construct that came from the daily effort to understand patients.

2

: a product of ideology, history, or social circumstances

Privacy is more than a social construct or an idea; it is a condition of the body.

—Sallie Tisdale

Synonyms

Verb

• concoct
• contrive
• cook (up)
• devise
• drum up
• excogitate
• fabricate
• invent
• make up
• manufacture
• think (up)
• trump up
• vamp (up)

Examples of construct in a Sentence

Verb

They plan to construct a barn behind the house.

The author constructs all the stories around one theme.

Construct a triangle that has sides of equal length.

Noun

He argues that time is a subjective construct with no objective existence.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The project will be constructed in phases on 2,000 of the 3,100 available acres south and west of the airport runways originally made available for a solar farm. —Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2025

Topanga Ranch Motel: Also owned by the state parks department, the Topanga Ranch Motel was constructed in 1929 by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst. —Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, 9 Jan. 2025

Noun

As a result, collective constructs about what symbols mean are constantly in flux. —Aarushi Bhandari, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2025

They’re still regularly used by the descendants of the people who built them or family friends: living history inside the borders of a modern construct. —Cassidy Randall, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Latin constructus, past participle of construere, from com- + struere to build — more at structure

First Known Use

Verb

1663, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1933, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing construct

• social construct

Kids Definition

construct

verb

con·​struct

kən-ˈstrəkt

1

: to make or form by combining or arranging parts : build

2

: to draw (a geometrical figure) with suitable instruments and under given conditions

constructable adjective

or constructible

-ˈstrək-tə-bəl

constructor

-ˈstrək-tər

noun

Medical Definition

construct

noun

con·​struct ˈkän-ˌstrəkt 

: something constructed especially by mental synthesis

form a construct of a physical object by mentally assembling and integrating sense-data