Structure Meaning
/ˈstɹʌk(t)ʃə/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA cohesive whole built up of distinct parts.
nounThe underlying shape of a solid.
Sentence Examples
In English, the usual sentence structure is Subject - Verb - Object/Complement.
The building is a monstrous structure.
How well does the teacher structure the lessons?
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The strong ____ of the bridge supported the weight of the trucks.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The architect designed a unique glass ____ that would serve as the main entrance to the new museum.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French structure, from Latin structūra (“a fitting together, adjustment, building, erection, a building, edifice, structure”), from struere, past participle structus (“pile up, arrange, assemble, build”). Compare construct, instruct, destroy, etc.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"Built in the 1980s, the country’s Scott Base consists of 12 structures that officials want replaced by three large, interconnected buildings, plus a separate helicopter hangar."
— 2019 September 26, Gianluca Mezzofiore, “Wanted: A design team for a building project at Earth’s most remote location – Antarctica”, in CNN:
"Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story."
— 2012 March 26, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2013, page 106:
"Next, let’s structure (42c) The girl walked. The verb walked is like slept: an intransitive verb V₀. Its dependent is a subject noun, girl. The noun girl has as its dependent the determiner the, […]"
— 2025, Edward A. F. Gibson, “Dependency Grammar” (chapter 3), in Syntax: A Cognitive Approach, MIT Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 57:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The strong ____ of the bridge supported the weight of the trucks.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The architect designed a unique glass ____ that would serve as the main entrance to the new museum.