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

And the build-out in this region is not nearly complete. —Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2025

Ursa also handles custom requests, up to and including full vehicle build-outs. —New Atlas, 2 Aug. 2025

The dollars raised by the Host Committee went to the build-out of Fiserv Forum into a TV-ready space, transportation for delegates, rental of the three convention venues and the welcome party for 15,000 people the night before the convention kicked off, Prange said previously. —Alison Dirr, jsonline.com, 31 July 2025

The primary bedroom suite has custom window treatments and a California closet build-out. —Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 31 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for build-out

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