From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbuildingbuild‧ing /ˈbɪldɪŋ/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 1 BUILD[countable] a structure such as a house, church, or factory, that has a roof and walls The offices are on the top two floors of the building. a farmhouse and other farm buildings2 [uncountable]BUILD the process or business of building things → construction There is a limited supply of land for building. stone, timber, and other building materialsbuilding of The enquiry recommended the building of a tunnel.COLLOCATIONSverbsput up a building (also erect a building formal)They keep pulling down the old buildings and putting up new ones.pull down/knock down/tear down a buildingAll the medieval buildings were torn down.demolish/destroy a building (=pull it down)Permission is needed to demolish listed buildings.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + buildinga tall buildingThe park was surrounded by tall buildings.a high-rise building (=very tall with many floors)a New York high-rise buildinga low buildingThat low building is a stable block.an office/school/hospital etc buildingOur office building is just ten minutes’ walk from where I live.a public buildingThe town has a number of interesting public buildings, including the old town hall.a beautiful building (also a fine/handsome building British English)The old station was a fine building, but has sadly been demolished.an impressive/imposing buildingthe impressive buildings around the town’s central squarea brick/stone/wooden buildingThe farmhouse is a long stone building about a century old.a two-storey/three-storey etc building (=with two, three etc floors)Our villa was a delightful two-storey building.a single-storey/one-storey building (=with only one floor)a historic building (=an old building of historical interest)Most of the historic buildings are from the 18th century.a listed building British English (=a historic building that is protected by a government order)The school is actually a listed building.a derelict building (=empty and in very bad condition)Near the canal there are a number of derelict buildings.a dilapidated building (=in bad condition)He rented an apartment at the top of a dilapidated building in Paris.a ramshackle building (also a tumbledown building British English) (=old and almost falling down)The farm was surrounded by tumbledown buildings.THESAURUSbuilding a structure such as a house, church, or factory, that has a roof and wallsThe college needs money to pay for new buildings.property formal a building or piece of land, or both together – used especially when talking about buying and selling buildings or landThe next property they looked at was too small.The company received permission to build six residential properties on the land.premises formal the buildings and land that a shop, restaurant, company etc usesYou are not allowed to drink alcohol on the premises.The bread is baked on the premises.complex a group of buildings, or a large building with many parts, used for a particular purposeThe town has one of the best leisure complexes in the country.a luxury apartment complexdevelopment a group of new buildings that have all been planned and built together on the same piece of landa new housing development a huge industrial developmentblock especially British English a large tall building that contains apartments or offices, or is part of a school, university, or hospitalan office blocka block of flatsa tower block (=a very tall building - often used disapprovingly)My next lecture is in the science block.facility especially American English a place or building used for a particular activity or industrya research facility on campusedifice formal a large building, especially one that is tall and impressive – a very formal useTheir head office was an imposing edifice.structure formal something that has been made to stand upright – used especially when talking about buildingsThe stone arch is one of the town’s oldest existing structures.an immense barn-like structureMogul calls this building, designed by Donald and John Parkinson in 1928, ‘the most important structure in Los Angeles of the 20th century.’
Examples from the Corpus
building• Under the clear astrodome she walked to the admin building, the sensors at Kandinskaya's door showing red.• an apartment building• Brewer Hall is a red-brick building with white trim.• There's a plan to convert the farm buildings into private apartments.• There has been an increase in new-home building in recent months.• Chemicals may be released from materials in buildings or furnishings.• The new law will increase building costs.• More than 600 people were injured and 300 surrounding buildings were damaged by the force of the explosion.• The Sears Tower is one of the tallest buildings in the world.• Thousands of workers in the building industry will lose their jobs as a result of cutbacks.• They made a documentary on the building of the State Capitol.• Her goal proved to be a tall, thin building, leaning like an amiable drunk, supported by its neighbours.• It was the invention of pre-stressed concrete that really transformed building techniques.• The whole building shook when a train went past.From Longman Business Dictionarybuildingbuild‧ing /ˈbɪldɪŋ/ noun [uncountable]PROPERTY the business of building houses, offices, factories etcThe building industry is still in recession. 