From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbuildbuild1 /bɪld/ ●●● S1 W1 verb (past tense and past participle built /bɪlt/) 1 make somethingMAKE something [intransitive, transitive]BUILD to make something, especially a building or something large The purpose is to build new houses for local people. The road took many years to build. They needed $3 million to build the bridge. It is the female birds that build the nests. Developers want to build on the site of the old gasworks. a row of recently built housesbuild somebody something He’s going to build the children a doll’s house.2 make something develop (also build up) [transitive]DEVELOP to make something develop or form She had built a reputation as a criminal lawyer. She’s been busy building her career. Ross took 20 years to build up his business.build (up) a picture of somebody/something (=form a clear idea about someone or something) We’re trying to build up a picture of what happened.3 → be built of something4 feelingFEELING (also build up) [intransitive, transitive]INCREASE IN ACTIVITY, FEELINGS ETC if a feeling builds, or if you build it, it increases gradually over a period of time Tension began to build as they argued more frequently. In order to build your self-esteem, set yourself targets you can reach.5 → build bridgesTHESAURUSbuild to make a house, road, wall, bridge etc using bricks, stone, wood, or other materialsA new stadium will be built for the Olympics.construct to build a building, bridge, machine etc. Construct is more formal than buildThe council plans to construct two new schools.put up something to build a wall, fence, or building, or put a statue somewhere. Put up is less formal than buildThe neighbours have put up a new wooden fence.erect formal to build a wall, fence, or building, especially a public building, or put a statue somewhereA monument to the Canadian soldiers was erected in Green Park.throw something up British English informal to build something very quicklyDevelopers have hastily thrown up family homes in the area.put together to make something from its parts, for example a piece of furnitureIt took an hour to put the bookcase together.assemble formal to put all the parts of something such as a machine or a piece of furniture togetherA line of robots assemble the cars. → build something around something → build something ↔ in → build something into something → build on → build up → build up to something→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
build• They're going to build another runway at the airport.• Tension is building between the two countries.• Every single car is built by hand at the company's headquarters near Turin.• The road was originally built by the Romans.• Alfoxden had been built by the St Albyns early in the eighteenth century close to the centre of their ancient park.• His ambition is to build his own house.• He built his political career on anti-Communism.• The Planetarium was built in 1929 in the style of a classical temple.• Ukraine wanted to build its own independent army.• One of Jim's hobbies is building model airplanes.• On what one commandment or value should I build my goals?• We're planning to build near the lake.• Only about 3% of houses in the US are built of concrete.• Are they going to build on this land?• The Company has built strong audiences in key markets and believes these communities can be extended and developed online.• The PTA is working to build support for the school in the community.• John and his father built the cabin themselves.• The cost of building the new football stadium was over $40 million.• Many people have studied languages in the past in school or elsewhere and this knowledge can be built upon.build somebody something• We'd like to build Katie a playhouse.build (up) a picture of somebody/something• This type of sequence could be used to build up a picture of a patient suffering from a specific condition.• This permits them to build up a picture of how the weather is changing virtually anywhere on Earth.• Whichever point the patient selects, that is the age from which I start to build up a picture of the character.• We're trying to build up a picture of what happened before the event.buildbuild2 ●○○ noun [singular, uncountable] BODYthe shape and size of someone’s body → built a woman of slim build You’re a surprisingly strong swimmer for one of such a slight build. I wanted a more athletic and muscular build.COLLOCATIONSadjectivesmedium/average buildHe was of medium build and wearing a light-coloured jacket.slim/slender buildShe was very strong despite her slender build.thin buildHe had the thin build of a long-distance runner.slight build (=fairly thin)Simpson was of slight build and shy in character.stocky build (=not very tall, but broad and strong)The man was described as of stocky build with dark hair.sturdy build (=not very tall but strong and healthy)an eight-year-old boy of sturdy buildmuscular buildThese exercises will help you achieve a strong muscular build.athletic buildShe admired his athletic build. Examples from the Corpus
build• Builders say that new home construction is slowing down.• The man the police are looking for is about thirty years old, blond, and of medium build.• a powerful build• You're exactly the right build for a rugby player -- you've got good strong broad shoulders.• And he was about the same build as her husband.• He looks rather like me -- we both have the same build.• Same sort of features, though, same build.• He was good at climbing; it was a sport in which his small, sinewy build was on his side.• This machine is no exception, and the quality of the build is better than you might expect for a bog-standard clone.slight build• The attacker was described as 30 years old with short dark hair, slight build and a Cockney accent.• He was younger than they and shorter and of slighter build.• Take a lady of slight build who is not too strong in the hands.From Longman Business Dictionarybuildbuild /bɪld/ verb (past tense and past participle built /bɪlt/) [transitive]1MANUFACTURINGto make or put together large things such as buildings, cars, ships, roads etcNew offices are being built on the site.No new ships are being built at the yard now.Sales of cars built in the US are falling.2COMMERCE (also build up) to create something over a long period of time by adding to it graduallya peasant’s son who built an enormous business empireHe built the company into one of the world’s biggest jewelery concerns.The drugs company has built up a formidable sales force.The government has recently built up currency reserves by buying U.S. dollars.3LAWwhen lawyers build a case, they put together facts, information etc to try to convince a court that someone is innocent or guiltyHe said prosecutors had built a case based on circumstantial evidence (=evidence that can make you believe that something happened, but does not prove that it did).→ See Verb tableOrigin build1 Old English byldan 