con·struct | \ kən-ˈstrəkt 
\
\constructed; constructing; constructs
Definition of construct
(Entry 1 of 2)
2 : to draw (a geometrical figure) with suitable instruments and under specified conditions
Construct a regular hexagon with sides 3 inches long.
3 : to set in logical order
construct
nouncon·struct | \ ˈkän-ˌstrəkt \
\Definition of construct (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : something constructed by the mind: such as
a : a theoretical entity
… the deductive study of abstract constructs …— Daniel J. Boorstin
b : a working hypothesis or concept
The unconscious was a construct that came from the daily effort to understand patients.
2 : a product of ideology, history, or social circumstances
Privacy is more than a social construct or an idea; it is a condition of the body.— Sallie Tisdale
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Other Words from construct
Verb
constructability or less commonly constructibility \ kən-ˌstrək-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē \ noun
\ nounconstructable or constructible \ kən-ˈstrək-tə-bəl \ adjective
\ adjectiveconstructor \ kən-ˈstrək-tər \ noun
\ nounSynonyms for construct
Synonyms: Verb
- concoct,
- contrive,
- cook (up),
- devise,
- drum up,
- excogitate,
- fabricate,
- invent,
- make up,
- manufacture,
- think (up),
- trump up,
- vamp (up)
Examples of construct in a Sentence
Verb
They plan to construct a barn behind the house.
The author constructs all the stories around one theme. Construct a triangle that has sides of equal length. Noun
He argues that time is a subjective construct with no objective existence.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The idea to construct the building, located just off Main Street at East Fourth Avenue and State Street, was hatched in earnest 1902, although discussions had been going on a decade before that.
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Arkansas Online, "OPINION | EDITORIAL: Save the Masonic Temple," 11 Jan. 2021 In August, a demolition permit application was filed with the Buildings Department for 857 Riverside, following an application to construct a 13-story residential building on the site.
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New York Times, "Preserving New York’s Ties to the Underground Railroad," 8 Jan. 2021 Mijornick’s team hired five cutters to make patterns and construct costumes for the principal roles, as well as two tailors.
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Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Bridgerton Features 7,500 Glorious Costume Pieces," 25 Dec. 2020 Minnesota Housing is allocating $168 million to 33 projects that will either construct or preserve more than 2,000 apartments and townhouses.
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Shannon Prather Star Tribune, Star Tribune, "Minnesota housing aid will help construct, preserve 2,400 affordable homes," 17 Dec. 2020 Literacy First plans to construct a 48,000-square-foot, two-story building with 22 classrooms, an administrative office and a gymnasium.
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Karen Pearlman, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Opponents of charter school appeal to county to overturn approval," 7 Dec. 2020 The decision was made to construct the athletic building elsewhere.
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Tatyana Turner, baltimoresun.com, "Grappling with its history, St. Mary’s College to dedicate rare memorial to enslaved people," 21 Nov. 2020 For that one, Winn had to construct a 1930s-era football stadium in Fort Worth.
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Michael Granberry, Dallas News, "As the new movie ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ demonstrates, Dallas’ Robert H. Winn is a gifted artist," 14 Dec. 2020 The 400,000 hand-kiln bricks used to construct the home, and almost every brick home in Lowell built before the 1900s, came from Halsted’s own nearby brick making business, Painter said.
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Carrie Napoleon, chicagotribune.com, "Historical group asks and community responds as work to restore founder of Lowell’s home continues," 26 Nov. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Elsewhere, some contractual bonus provisions have required some reimagining within the construct of pandemic football.
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Steve Berkowitz, USA TODAY, "College football coaches' bonuses in COVID pandemic: Who's getting paid, who's not and who might," 19 Dec. 2020 Duchenne settled on 60, whereas beginning in the 1970s, psychologist Paul Ekman famously characterized six (disgust, sadness, happiness, fear, anger, surprise) in a construct that has held sway for decades.
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Emily Willingham, Scientific American, "A Smile at a Wedding and a Cheer at a Soccer Game Are Alike the World Over," 17 Dec. 2020 Researchers have defined a new personality construct to describe individuals who consistently see themselves as victims.
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Andrew Mark Miller, Washington Examiner, "Researchers identify new personality construct found in individuals who tend to see themselves as victims," 10 Dec. 2020 Many of the songs on Armed Forces play, inchoately, with the idea of love as a fraught and even fascistic construct that leads people to inhumanity, unreason, and brutality.
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David A. Graham, The Atlantic, "Why a 41-Year-Old Record About Fascism Matters Now," 30 Nov. 2020 This idea persists despite ample evidence that race—a social construct—is not a reliable proxy for genetics: Every racial group contains a lot of diversity in its genes.
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The Editors, Scientific American, "Take Racism Out of Medical Algorithms," 23 Nov. 2020 This scenic construct essentially places all the actors behind an epic sneeze guard.
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Celia Wren, Washington Post, "Tickets are limited and temperatures are taken, but indoor theater in D.C. is back," 2 Nov. 2020 Race is a social construct that changes on whims, biases and power plays.
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WSJ, "Why Do We Still Count by Race Like We Do?," 4 Dec. 2020 And with this dramatic construct of having your son make a mistake and panic and leave the scene of an accident, which results in a death, is disturbing and very, very possible.
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Derek Lawrence, EW.com, "Watch Bryan Cranston's judge break bad in new Your Honor trailer," 22 Oct. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'construct.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for construct
construct
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of construct
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to build or make (something physical, such as a road, bridge, or building)
: to make or create (something, such as a story or theory) by organizing ideas, words, etc.
mathematics : to draw (a shape) according to a set of instructions or rules
construct
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of construct (Entry 2 of 2)
formal : something (such as an idea or a theory) that is formed in people's minds
See the full definition for construct in the English Language Learners Dictionary
construct
verbcon·struct | \ kən-ˈstrəkt \
\constructed; constructing
Kids Definition of construct
: to make or form by combining parts
construct a bridge
construct
nouncon·struct | \ ˈkän-ˌstrəkt \
\Medical Definition of construct
: something constructed especially by mental synthesis
form a construct of a physical object by mentally assembling and integrating sense-data
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Comments on construct
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Time Traveler for construct
The first known use of construct was in 1663
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