Definition of INFRASTRUCTURES

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Infra- means "below;" so the infrastructure is the "underlying structure" of a country and its economy, the fixed installations that it needs in order to function. These include roads, bridges, dams, the water and sewer systems, railways and subways, airports, and harbors. These are generally government-built and publicly owned. Some people also speak about such things as the intellectual infrastructure or the infrastructure of science research, but the meaning of such notions can be extremely vague.

Examples of infrastructure in a Sentence

More money is needed to save the crumbling infrastructure of the nation's rural areas. We need to spend more money on maintaining and repairing infrastructure.

Recent Examples on the Web

These sellers, which use Amazon’s marketplace and infrastructure, have their own supply chains. — Benjamin Romano, The Seattle Times, "Employees are pressuring Amazon to become a leader on climate. Here’s how that could work.," 18 May 2019 Another video, which was shared on the Royal Family's Instagram account, offers a look behind the walls at the Palace's aging infrastructure, and how shows a new energy center is being installed in the Palace basement. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "New Photos of the Buckingham Palace Renovation Reveal What Queen Elizabeth's Residence Really Looks Like," 16 May 2019 Johnson criticized the company for making no mention of the potential impact on the city’s crumbling public transportation infrastructure, aside from a plan to build a helipad. — Shirin Ghaffary, Recode, "New York City council members railed against Amazon in the hope of renegotiating the HQ2 deal," 12 Dec. 2018 If Westeros managed to stabilize its government, expand commerce, invest in public institutions and infrastructure, and emphasize knowledge and reason when setting policy, that would go a long way to reducing the violence over time. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "New study gives some handy tips on how to survive on Game of Thrones," 9 Dec. 2018 Both the White House and Democrats approved of a spending boost for infrastructure, as well as a $4.6 billion increase in funding to stop the opioid epidemic. — Adam Shaw, Fox News, "House approves $1.3 trillion spending bill; measure moves to Senate," 2 Oct. 2018 Delaney said, also arguing for infrastructure investment and international tax reform. — Lucy Diavolo, Teen Vogue, "Here's Every Democrat Officially Running in the 2020 Presidential Election So Far," 11 Mar. 2019 There's no clear word yet on when the new one-day shipping will officially launch, but Olsavsky pledged that Amazon would be laying a lot of the infrastructure groundwork throughout the rest of 2019. — Alexis Rhiannon, Allure, "Amazon Prime Just Announced Free One-Day Shipping With No Minimum Purchase," 26 Apr. 2019 As internet service providers continue building out fiber networks around the country, expect speeds to increase, though speeds vary widely by region depending on infrastructure and whether or not an area has fiber. — Rani Molla, Recode, "U.S. internet speeds rose nearly 40 percent this year," 12 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'infrastructure.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.