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

The chips require way too much power, power that can’t be had without multiyear build-outs that are impossible because the real source of power, the GE Vernova turbines, won’t be available til 2030. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 21 Dec. 2025

Encore doesn’t own or operate the venues, but provides staff, build-out services, and technology. —Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 19 Dec. 2025

China, while being the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is a global leader in renewable energy build-out, including offshore wind projects. —Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 19 Dec. 2025

The full Barnwood build-out will come in phases, comprising 1,050 total housing units, Bailey Engineers stated in its report on behalf of the applicants. —Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 14 Dec. 2025

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