infrastructure

noun

in·​fra·​struc·​ture ˈin-frə-ˌstrək-chər 

-(ˌ)frä-

1

: the system of public works of a country, state, or region

also : the resources (such as personnel, buildings, or equipment) required for an activity

2

: the underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a system or organization)

3

: the permanent installations required for military purposes

infrastructural

ˈin-frə-ˌstrək-chə-rəl  -ˌstrək-shrəl 

-(ˌ)frä-

adjective

Did you know?

Infra- means "below;" so the infrastructure is the "underlying structure" of a country and its economy, the fixed installations that it needs in order to function. These include roads, bridges, dams, the water and sewer systems, railways and subways, airports, and harbors. These are generally government-built and publicly owned. Some people also speak about such things as the intellectual infrastructure or the infrastructure of science research, but the meaning of such notions can be extremely vague.

Synonyms

• architecture
• armature
• cadre
• configuration
• edifice
• fabric
• frame
• framework
• framing
• shell
• skeleton
• structure

Examples of infrastructure in a Sentence

More money is needed to save the crumbling infrastructure of the nation's rural areas.

We need to spend more money on maintaining and repairing infrastructure.

Recent Examples on the Web

These minerals are vital for manufacturing products, renewable energy development and infrastructure. —Carlie Procell, USA Today, 2 May 2025

Here’s why: High infrastructure costs: Building ambient AI platforms requires deep integration with EHRs, HIPAA compliance, and sophisticated clinical-grade natural language processing — all of which demand significant upfront investment. —Sindhya Valloppillil, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

Ukraine's prime minister, Denys Shmyhal said the fund, which will invest in extraction of critical minerals, oil and gas, infrastructure and processing, will be split 50-50, with each side having equal voting rights and the U.S. can count new military aid as a contribution. —Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025

That brings us to Senate Bill 769, which appears superficially to be a positive effort to expand infrastructure financing but could be another example of unanticipated consequences. —Dan Walters, Mercury News, 1 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for infrastructure

• macrostructure
• microstructure
• nanostructure
• superstructure
• ultrastructure
• restructure
• substructure
• structure

Kids Definition

infrastructure

noun

in·​fra·​struc·​ture ˈin-frə-ˌstrək-chər 

1

: the underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a system or organization)

2

: the system of public works of a country, state, or region

also : the resources (as people, buildings, or equipment) required for an activity