noun · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈɑː.kɪˌtɛk.t͡ʃə/
Canada, General-American:/ˈɑɹ.kɪˌtɛk.t͡ʃɚ/
California:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/ˈɐː.kɪˌtek.t͡ʃə/
New-Zealand:/ˈɐː.kəˌtek.t͡ʃə/
CMU ARPABET:AA1 R K AH0 T EH2 K CH ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The art and science of designing and managing the construction of buildings and other structures, particularly if they are well proportioned and decorated.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
The architecture throughout NYC is amazing.
April 21, 2017, Max Roscoe, How Your City Is Killing You With Uglinesshttps://web.archive.org/web/20201112015531/https://www.returnofkings.com/118275/how-your-city-is-killing-you-with-ugliness Architecture is the visual public expression of a culture’s achievements, values, and outlook.# The profession of an architect.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Any particular style of building design.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Construction, in a more general sense; frame or structure; workmanship.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
1684-1690, Thomas Burnet, Sacred Theory of the Earth the formation of the first Earth, after such a wonderful manner, being a piece of Divine Architecture
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A unifying structure.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
A family of CPUs sharing a common instruction set and having partial or full compatibility with software built on each other.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
The Intel architectures have more software written for them.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
The structure and design of a system or product.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
2004, Prof P.C.P. Bhatt, (nptel.iitm.ac.in) Module 14: Unix Kernel Architecture The kernel runs the show, i.e. it manages all the operations in a Unix flavored environment. The kernel architecture must support the primary Unix requirements. These requirements fall in two categories namely, functions for process management and functions for file management (files include device files). Process management entails allocation of resources including CPU, memory, and offers services that processes may need. The file management in itself involves handling all the files required by processes, communication with device drives and regulating transmission of data to and from peripherals.
The architecture of the company's billing system is designed to support its business goals.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their esthetic effect
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: profession
9
noun
Meaning 9
an architectural product or work
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: building, edifice
10
noun
Meaning 10
(computer science) the structure and organization of a computer's hardware or system software
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the architecture of a computer's system software
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: computer architecture
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: structure
Narrower terms: complex instruction set computing, complex instruction set computer, CISC, reduced instruction set computing, reduced instruction set computer, RISC
11
noun
Meaning 11
the discipline dealing with the principles of design and construction and ornamentation of fine buildings
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
architecture and eloquence are mixed arts whose end is sometimes beauty and sometimes use
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: discipline, subject, subject area, subject field, field, field of study, study, bailiwick, fine arts, beaux arts
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h2er-der.? Proto-Indo-European *h2ergh-der.? Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō) Ancient Greek ἀρχι- (arkhi-) Proto-Indo-European *teḱ- Proto-Indo-European *tetḱ- Proto-Indo-European *-ō Proto-Indo-European *tétḱō Proto-Hellenic *téktōn Ancient Greek τέκτων (téktōn) Ancient Greek ἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn)bor. Latin architectus Proto-Indo-European *-tew-? Proto-Indo-European *-r-eh2? Latin -tūra Latin architectūralbor. French architecturebor. English architecture Borrowed from French architecture, from Latin architectūra. Originally from architect, from Ancient Greek ἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn, “architect”, literally “arch builder, ext. chief builder, principal craftsman”).
Across languages
Translations
152 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
argitektuur
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Albanian:
arkitekturë
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Amharic:
ሥነ ሕንፃ
(śənä ḥənṣ́a)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Arabic:
هَنْدَسَة مِعْمَارِيَّة
(handasa miʕmāriyya)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Arabic:
عِمَارَة
(ʕimāra)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Armenian:
ճարտարապետություն
(čartarapetutʻyun)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Aromanian:
arhitecturâ
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Assamese:
স্থাপত্যকলা
(sthapoittokola)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Asturian:
arquiteutura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Asturian:
arquitectura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Azerbaijani:
memarlıq
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Basque:
arkitektura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Belarusian:
архітэкту́ра
(arxitektúra)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Bulgarian:
архитекту́ра
(arhitektúra)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Burmese:
ဗိသုကာပညာ
(bi.su.kapa.nya)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Catalan:
arquitectura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Chechen:
архитектура
(arxitektura)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Cherokee:
ᎠᏓᏁᎳᏅᎯ
(adanelanvhi)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Chinese Cantonese:
建築 /建筑
(gin3 zuk1)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Chinese Cantonese:
建築學 /建筑学
(gin3 zuk1 hok6)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Chinese:
建築 /建筑
(zh-min-nan)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Chinese Mandarin:
建築 /建筑
(jiànzhù)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Chinese Mandarin:
建築學 /建筑学
(jiànzhùxué)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Crimean Tatar:
mimarcılıq
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Czech:
architektura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Danish:
arkitektur
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Dutch:
architectuur
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Dutch:
bouwstijl
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Esperanto:
arkitekturo
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Esperanto:
arĥitekturo
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Estonian:
arhitektuur
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Estonian:
ehituskunst
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Faroese:
byggilist
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Finnish:
arkkitehtuuri
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Finnish:
rakennustaide
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
French:
architecture
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
North Frisian:
baukonst
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Saterland Frisian:
Baukunst
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
West-Frisian:
boukeunst
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Galician:
arquitectura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Georgian:
არქიტექტურა
(arkiṭekṭura)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
German:
Architektur
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
German:
Baustil
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Greek:
αρχιτεκτονική
(architektonikí)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Greenlandic:
ilusilersugaaneq
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Gujarati:
વાસ્તુકલા
(vāstukalā)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Haitian Creole:
achitekti
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Hausa:
handasa
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Hebrew:
אַדְרִיכָלוּת
(adrikhalút)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Hebrew:
אַרְכִיטֶקְטוּרָה
(arxitekˈtura)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Hindi:
वास्तुकला
(vāstukalā)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Hindi:
स्थापत्य
(sthāpatya)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Hungarian:
építészet
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Icelandic:
byggingarlist
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Icelandic:
húsagerðarlist
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Ido:
arkitekturo
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Indonesian:
arsitektur
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Indonesian:
ilmu bangunan
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Indonesian:
seni bina
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Interlingua:
architectura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Inuktitut:
ᐃᒡᓗᕐᔪᐊᑦ ᐋᖅᑭᒃᓯᒪᓂᖏᑦ
(icloryoat aaqkiksimaningit)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Irish:
ailtireacht
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Italian:
architettura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Japanese:
建築
(kenchiku)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Japanese:
建築学
(kenchikugaku)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Javanese:
seni bangunan
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Kalmyk:
урн тосхлт
(urn tosxlt)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Kannada:
ವಾಸ್ತುಶಿಲ್ಪಶಾಸ್ತ್ರ
(vāstuśilpaśāstra)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Kannada:
ಕಟ್ಟಡದರಿಮೆ
(kaṭṭaḍadarime)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Kashubian:
architektura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Kazakh:
сәулет
(säulet)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Khmer:
ស្ថាបត្យកម្ម
(sthaapattyaʼkam)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Khmer:
និម្មាបនកម្ម
(nɨmmiəpaʼnaʼkam)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Korean:
건축
(geonchuk)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Korean:
건축학
(geonchukhak)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Northern Kurdish:
mîmarî
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Northern Kurdish:
bînasazî
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Kyrgyz:
архитектура
(arhitektura)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Lao:
ສະຖາປັດຕະຍະກໍາ
(sa thā pat ta nya kam)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Latin:
architectūra
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Latvian:
arhitektūra
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Lithuanian:
architektūra
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Macedonian:
архитекту́ра
(arhitektúra)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Malagasy:
maritrano
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Malay:
seni bina
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Malayalam:
വാസ്തുവിദ്യ
(vāstuvidya)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Manx:
ard-obbrinys
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Manx:
seyrnaght
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Māori:
hoahoanga
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Marathi:
वास्तुशास्त्र
(vāstuśāstra)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Mongolian:
уран барилга
(uran barilga)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Mongolian:
архитектур
(arxitektur)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Nahuatl:
arquitectura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Nahuatl:
calmanayōtl
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Nahuatl:
calmanaliztli
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Neapolitan:
archetettura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Norwegian Bokmål:
arkitektur
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Occitan:
arquitectura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Occitan:
architectura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Pashto:
مهندسي
(muhandasī)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Pashto:
معماري
(miʿmārī)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Persian:
معماری
(me'mâri)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Persian:
مهرازی
(mehrâzi)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Persian:
مهندسی
(mohandasi)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Pitcairn-Norfolk:
aarkitekchur
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Polish:
architektura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Portuguese:
arquitetura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Punjabi:
ਵਾਸਤੂਕਲਾ
(vāstūkalā)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Quechua:
sumaq wasichay kamay
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Quechua:
arkhitiktura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Romanian:
arhitectură
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Russian:
архитекту́ра
(arxitektúra)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Russian:
зо́дчество
(zódčestvo)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Sanskrit:
स्थापत्यकर्म
(sthāpatyakarma)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Scottish Gaelic:
ailtearachd
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Serbo-Croatian:
архитекту́ра
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Serbo-Croatian:
arhitektúra
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Silesian:
baukůnšt
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Sinhalese:
වාස්තු විද්යාව
(wāstu widyāwa)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Slovak:
architektúra
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Slovene:
arhitektura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Spanish:
arquitectura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Swahili:
ujenzi
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Swahili:
usanifu majengo
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Swedish:
arkitektur
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Tagalog:
arkitektura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Tagalog:
agbarugan
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Tajik:
меъморӣ
(me'mori)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Tamil:
கட்டிடக்கலை
(kaṭṭiṭakkalai)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Tatar:
мигмарлык
(migmarlıq)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Tatar:
архитектура
(arxitektura)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Telugu:
వాస్తుశాస్త్రము
(vāstuśāstramu)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Thai:
สถาปัตยกรรม
(sà-tǎa-bpàt-dtà-yá-gam)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Tibetan:
ཁང་རྩིག་བཟོ་རིག
(khang rtsig bzo rig)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Turkish:
mimarlık
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Ottoman Turkish:
معمارلق
(mi'mârlık)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Turkmen:
arhitektura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Ukrainian:
архітекту́ра
(arxitektúra)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Uyghur:
بىناكارلىق
(binakarliq)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Uzbek:
meʼmorlik
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Uzbek:
me’morchilik
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Uzbek:
arxitektura
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Vietnamese:
kiến trúc
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Volapük:
bumav
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Võro:
ehitüskunst
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Welsh:
pensaernïaeth
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Yiddish:
אַרכיטעקטור
(arkhitektur)
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Yoruba:
ákítẹ́ṣọ̀
— art and science of designing buildings and other structures
Indonesian:
arsitektur
— style of building design
Indonesian:
arsitektur
— computing: a family of CPUs sharing a common instruction set and having partial or full compatibility with software built on each other
Indonesian:
arsitektur
— computing: a specific model of a microchip or CPU
Polish:
architektura
— computing: a specific model of a microchip or CPU
