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

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images As Alphabet returns to the debt market to fund its artificial intelligence build-out, the company is acknowledging new risks tied to the rise of AI and its hefty investments in infrastructure. —Jennifer Elias, CNBC, 9 Feb. 2026

At full build-out, the development is expected to have 2,200 apartments across 35 acres. —Nick Wooten, Dallas Morning News, 6 Feb. 2026

The challenge for buyers will be to build strategic reserves and accelerate infrastructure build-out, rather than simply enjoying the temporary discount. —Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026

While there’s been a massive build-out of satellites for telecommunications, defense and climate monitoring, the equipment for controlling and communicating with them is aging and becoming obsolete. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 28 Jan. 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