Standard Lemma guide

structure

noun · verb · 15 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: /ˈstɹʌk(t)ʃə/
  • US: /ˈstɹʌkt͡ʃɚ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: [ˈstʃɹɐktʃə]
  • Northern-England: /ˈstɹʊkt͡ʃə/
  • Scotland: /ˈstɾʌkt͡ʃəɾ/
  • Wales: /ˈstɾʌkt͡ʃə/
  • CMU ARPABET: S T R AH1 K CH ER0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A cohesive whole built up of distinct parts.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The birds had built an amazing structure out of sticks and various discarded items.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: formation

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The underlying shape of a solid.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • He studied the structure of her face.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: formation

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The overall form or organization of something.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The structure of a sentence.
  • The structure of the society was still a mystery.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: makeup, configuration, arrangement, composition, format, constitution, form, structure

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A set of rules defining behaviour.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • For some, the structure of school life was oppressive.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Several pieces of data treated as a unit.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

Examples

  • This structure contains both date and timezone information.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Underwater terrain or objects (such as a dead tree or a submerged car) that tend to attract fish

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: fishing, hobbies, lifestyle

Examples

  • There's lots of structure to be fished along the west shore of the lake; the impoundment submerged a town there when it was built.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A body, such as a political party, with a cohesive purpose or outlook.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The South African leader went off to consult with the structures.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

A set along with a collection of finitary functions and relations.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, logic, mathematics, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

verb

Meaning 9

To give structure to; to arrange.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • I'm trying to structure my time better so I'm not always late.
  • I've structured the deal to limit the amount of money we can lose.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the structure consisted of a series of arches
  • she wore her hair in an amazing construction of whirls and ribbons

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: construction

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: artifact, artefact

Narrower terms: airdock, hangar, repair shed, altar, arcade, colonnade, arch, area, balcony, bascule, boarding, body, bridge, span, building, edifice, building complex, complex, catchment, coil, spiral, volute, whorl, helix, column, pillar, corner, quoin, cross, deathtrap, defensive structure, defense, defence, door, entablature, erection, establishment, false bottom, floor, level, storey, story, fountain, guide, house of cards, cardhouse, card-house, cardcastle, housing, lodging, living accommodations, hull, jungle gym, lamination, landing, landing place, lookout, observation tower, lookout station, observatory, masonry, memorial, monument, mound, hill, obstruction, obstructor, obstructer, impediment, impedimenta, partition, divider, platform, weapons platform, porch, post and lintel, prefab, projection, public works, sail, set-back, setoff, offset, shelter, shoebox, signboard, sign, stadium, bowl, arena, sports stadium, superstructure, supporting structure, tower, transept, trestlework, vaulting, ways, shipway, slipway, wellhead, wind tunnel, honeycomb, balance, equilibrium, equipoise, counterbalance

11

noun

Meaning 11

the manner of construction of something and the arrangement of its parts

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • artists must study the structure of the human body
  • the structure of the benzene molecule

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: constitution, composition, physical composition, makeup, make-up

Narrower terms: infrastructure, substructure, computer architecture, architecture, cytoarchitecture, cytoarchitectonics, framework, fabric

12

noun

Meaning 12

a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he has good bone structure

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: anatomical structure, complex body part, bodily structure, body structure

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: body part

Narrower terms: layer, apodeme, calyculus, caliculus, calycle, tooth, pad, gill slit, branchial cleft, gill cleft, gill arch, branchial arch, gill bar, peristome, syrinx, bulb, carina, cauda, chiasma, chiasm, decussation, cingulum, concha, filament, filum, germ, infundibulum, interstice, landmark, limbus, rib, blade, radicle, plexus, rete, tube, tube-shaped structure, passage, passageway, fundus, funiculus, head, cavity, bodily cavity, cavum, root, tooth root, capsule, uvea, lens nucleus, nucleus, membranous labyrinth, bony labyrinth, osseous labyrinth, glans, alveolar bed, valve, vascular structure, lacrimal apparatus, cytoskeleton, nucleolus organizer, nucleolus organiser, nucleolar organizer, nucleolar organiser, centromere, kinetochore, aster, neural structure, fold, plica, gyrus, convolution, cartilaginous structure, ball, plate, horny structure, unguis, skeletal structure, costa, bridge, rotator cuff, cornu, corona, receptor, zone, zona

13

noun

Meaning 13

the complex composition of knowledge as elements and their combinations

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • his lectures have no structure

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cognition, knowledge, noesis

Narrower terms: arrangement, organization, organisation, system, form, shape, pattern, syntax, sentence structure, phrase structure, morphology, sound structure, syllable structure, word structure

14

noun

Meaning 14

the people in a society considered as a system organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the social organization of England and America is very different
  • sociologists have studied the changing structure of the family

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: social organization, social organisation, social structure, social system

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: system, scheme

Narrower terms: feudalism, feudal system, patriarchy, patriarchate, matriarchy, matriarchate, meritocracy, pluralism, class structure, segregation, separatism

15

verb

Meaning 15

give a structure to

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • I need to structure my days

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: organize, organise, coordinate

Narrower terms: restructure, reconstitute

History

Etymology

From Middle French structure, from Latin structūra (“a fitting together, adjustment, building, erection, a building, edifice, structure”), from struere, past participle structus (“pile up, arrange, assemble, build”). Compare construct, instruct, destroy, etc.

Across languages

Translations

183 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: strukturë — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Arabic: هَيْكَل (haykal) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Armenian: կառույց (kaṙuycʻ) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Asturian: estructura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Azerbaijani: struktur — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Azerbaijani: quruluş — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Belarusian: структу́ра (struktúra) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Bengali: গঠন (goṭhon) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Bulgarian: структу́ра (struktúra) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Burmese: ဖွဲ့စည်းပုံ (hpwai.cany:pum) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Catalan: estructura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Chinese Mandarin: 結構 /结构 (jiégòu) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Czech: struktura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Danish: struktur — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Dutch: structuur — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Esperanto: strukturo — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Estonian: struktuur — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Finnish: rakennelma — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Galician: estrutura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Georgian: სტრუქტურა (sṭrukṭura) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • German: Struktur — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Greek: δομή (domí) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Hebrew: מִבְנֶה (mivné) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Hindi: संरचना (sanracnā) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Hindi: ढाँचा (ḍhā̃cā) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Hungarian: szerkezet — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Icelandic: bygging — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Ingrian: struktura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Irish: struchtúr — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Italian: struttura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Japanese: 構造 (kōzō) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Japanese: 構成 (kōsei) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Kazakh: құрылым (qūrylym) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Khmer: គ្រោង (kroong) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Korean: 구조 (gujo) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Korean: 구성 (guseong) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Northern Kurdish: pêkhate — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Kyrgyz: структура (struktura) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Lao: ໂຄງສ້າງ (khōng sāng) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Latvian: struktūra — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Lithuanian: struktūra — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Macedonian: структу́ра (struktúra) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Malay: rangka — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Malay: struktur — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Māori: rangaranga — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Mongolian: бүтэц (bütec) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Norwegian Bokmål: struktur — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Oromo: caasaa — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Persian: سازه (sâze) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Persian: ساخت (sâxt) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Polish: struktura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Portuguese: estrutura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Romanian: structură — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Russian: структу́ра (struktúra) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Scottish Gaelic: togail — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Serbo-Croatian: структу́ра — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Serbo-Croatian: struktúra — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Shan: ယူင်ႉသၢင်ႈ (yṵ̂ung sāang) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Slovak: štruktúra — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Slovene: struktura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Spanish: estructura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Swedish: struktur — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Tagalog: balangkas — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Tagalog: estruktura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Tagalog: kayarian — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Tajik: сохт (soxt) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Tajik: структура (struktura) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Tajik: сохтор (soxtor) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Thai: โครงสร้าง (kroong-sâang) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Turkish: yapı — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Ottoman Turkish: یاپی (yapı) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Turkmen: gurluş — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Ukrainian: структу́ра (struktúra) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Ukrainian: спору́да (sporúda) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Urdu: ساخت (sāxt) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Uyghur: قۇرۇلما (qurulma) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Uzbek: tuzilma — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Uzbek: struktura — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Uzbek: qurilish — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Uzbek: tuzilish — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Vietnamese: kết cấu — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Yiddish: סטרוקטור (struktur) — cohesive whole built up of distinct parts
  • Armenian: կառուցվածք (kaṙucʻvackʻ) — underlying shape of a solid
  • Asturian: estructura — underlying shape of a solid
  • Bulgarian: структура (struktura) — underlying shape of a solid
  • Bulgarian: строеж (stroež) — underlying shape of a solid
  • Catalan: estructura — underlying shape of a solid
  • Dutch: structuur — underlying shape of a solid
  • Finnish: rakenne — underlying shape of a solid
  • French: structure — underlying shape of a solid
  • Galician: estrutura — underlying shape of a solid
  • Haitian Creole: strikti — underlying shape of a solid
  • Hindi: संरचना (sanracnā) — underlying shape of a solid
  • Hindi: ढाँचा (ḍhā̃cā) — underlying shape of a solid
  • Irish: struchtúr — underlying shape of a solid
  • Italian: struttura — underlying shape of a solid
  • Japanese: 構成 (kōsei) — underlying shape of a solid
  • Korean: 구성 (guseong) — underlying shape of a solid
  • Northern Kurdish: pêkhate — underlying shape of a solid
  • Latin: compāgēs — underlying shape of a solid
  • Malay: rangka — underlying shape of a solid
  • Malay: struktur — underlying shape of a solid
  • Māori: hanganga — underlying shape of a solid
  • Māori: whaihanganga — underlying shape of a solid
  • Portuguese: estrutura — underlying shape of a solid
  • Romanian: structură — underlying shape of a solid
  • Scottish Gaelic: dèanamh — underlying shape of a solid
  • Spanish: estructura — underlying shape of a solid
  • Tagalog: balangkas — underlying shape of a solid
  • Tagalog: estruktura — underlying shape of a solid
  • Tagalog: kayarian — underlying shape of a solid
  • Vietnamese: cấu trúc — underlying shape of a solid
  • Armenian: կառուցվածք (kaṙucʻvackʻ) — overall form or organization of something
  • Bulgarian: организираност (organiziranost) — overall form or organization of something
  • Catalan: estructura — overall form or organization of something
  • Danish: struktur — overall form or organization of something
  • Finnish: rakenne — overall form or organization of something
  • French: structure — overall form or organization of something
  • German: Struktur — overall form or organization of something
  • Haitian Creole: strikti — overall form or organization of something
  • Hebrew: מבנה — overall form or organization of something
  • Hebrew: תצורה — overall form or organization of something
  • Hungarian: felépítés — overall form or organization of something
  • Hungarian: szerkezet — overall form or organization of something
  • Indonesian: struktur — overall form or organization of something
  • Interlingua: structura — overall form or organization of something
  • Irish: struchtúr — overall form or organization of something
  • Italian: struttura — overall form or organization of something
  • Japanese: 構成 (kōsei) — overall form or organization of something
  • Korean: 구성 (guseong) — overall form or organization of something
  • Malay: rangka — overall form or organization of something
  • Malay: struktur — overall form or organization of something
  • Malayalam: രൂപം (rūpaṁ) — overall form or organization of something
  • Māori: rangaranga — overall form or organization of something
  • Māori: hanganga — overall form or organization of something
  • Persian: ساختار (sâxtâr) — overall form or organization of something
  • Polish: struktura — overall form or organization of something
  • Portuguese: estrutura — overall form or organization of something
  • Russian: структу́ра (struktúra) — overall form or organization of something
  • Sanskrit: रूपम् (rūpam) — overall form or organization of something
  • Spanish: estructura — overall form or organization of something
  • Swedish: struktur — overall form or organization of something
  • Tagalog: balangkas — overall form or organization of something
  • Tagalog: estruktura — overall form or organization of something
  • Tagalog: kayarian — overall form or organization of something
  • Turkish: yapı — overall form or organization of something
  • Ukrainian: структу́ра (struktúra) — overall form or organization of something
  • Bulgarian: устройство (ustrojstvo) — set of rules defining behaviour
  • Finnish: järjestelmä — set of rules defining behaviour
  • Hebrew: מסגרת — set of rules defining behaviour
  • Hebrew: מתכונת — set of rules defining behaviour
  • Japanese: 構成 (kōsei) — set of rules defining behaviour
  • Danish: struktur — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Finnish: rakenne — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Finnish: tietue — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • German: Struktur — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • German: Datenstruktur — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Greek: δομή (domí) — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Hungarian: struktúra — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Irish: struchtúr — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Japanese: 構造体 (kōzōtai) — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Japanese: 構成 (kōsei) — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Portuguese: registro — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Swedish: struktur — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Turkish: veri yapısı — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Turkish: yapı — computing: several pieces of data treated as a unit
  • Finnish: järjestö — body, such as a political party, with a cohesive purpose or outlook
  • Hungarian: szervezet — body, such as a political party, with a cohesive purpose or outlook
  • Belarusian: структурава́ць (strukturavácʹ) — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Bulgarian: структурирам (strukturiram) — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Catalan: estructurar — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Czech: strukturovat — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Danish: strukturere — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Dutch: structureren — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Galician: estruturar — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • German: strukturieren — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Portuguese: estruturar — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Russian: структури́ровать (strukturírovatʹ) — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Spanish: estructurar — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Swedish: strukturera — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Turkish: yapılandırmak — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Ukrainian: структурува́ти (strukturuváty) — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
  • Welsh: strwythuro — (transitive) to give structure to; to arrange
Real reading context

structure in complete knowledge articles