build-out

noun

ˈbild-ˌau̇t 

variants or less commonly buildout

plural build-outs also buildouts

1

a

: work done to make a structure or system ready for use or to bring a construction or development project to a completed state

When the build-out of the campus is complete, as many as 7,500 students will attend class there.

—Janis L. Magin

b

: work done to expand a system (such as a telecommunications system)

The buildout of new infrastructure for digital cellular telephony is at such an early stage that it's impossible to predict what the performance of some of the systems will be.

—Brian C. Fenton

c

: a project or process involving such work

Of course, the Chinese are traveling and spending more in their own country too, in part because of a gigantic infrastructure build-out; China will have constructed more high-speed-rail capacity by the end of the decade than is currently operating in the rest of the world, some 10,000 miles' (16,000 km) worth.

—Bill Saporito

2

: a state in which an area has been fully developed

At build-out, the community is planned to include retail, restaurant and office space, a hotel, urban-style and loft apartments, townhomes, and condominiums.

—The Flower Mound (Texas) Leader

Examples of build-out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Rising demand for power, land, construction, and industrial equipment are all facing price inflation for the same reason that the railroad build-out drove input prices up. — Nili Gilbert, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026

But the build-out has proven so expensive that Silicon Valley has turned to corporate bonds and private credit, meaning loans made by entities other than banks. — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026

Many of those skilled workers live in the United Arab Emirates, which hired large numbers of local engineers during the build-out of its Barakah Nuclear Plant over the last decade. — Jenny Vaughan, semafor.com, 20 July 2026

With just over 100 days until election day, the onetime border-blockading logger faces a steep fundraising climb, a sprawling statewide build-out and Maine’s pivotal role in Democrats’ bid for Senate control. — Kimberlee Kruesi, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for build-out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout