build

Etymology

From Middle English bilden, bulden, bylden, from Old English byldan and bytlan, bytlian (“to build”), from Proto-West Germanic *buþlijan (“to build”), from Proto-Germanic *buþlą, *bōþlą (“house, dwelling, farm”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to become, grow, thrive, be, live, dwell”). Related to Old English botl (“building, house”). More at bottle.

verb

1. (transitive) To form (something) by combining materials or parts.
   A chap named Eleazir Kendrick and I had chummed in together the summer afore and built a fish-weir and shanty at Setuckit Point, down Orham way. For a spell we done pretty well. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
2. (transitive) To develop or give form to (something) according to a plan or process.
   The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you … "share the things you love with the world" and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention. 2013-06-21, Oliver Burkeman, “The tao of tech”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 27
3. (transitive) To increase or strengthen (something) by adding gradually to.
   Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete. 2013-07-20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
4. (transitive) To establish a basis for (something).
5. (intransitive) To form by combining materials or parts.
6. (intransitive) To develop in magnitude or extent.
7. (transitive, computing) To construct (software) by compiling its source code.
8. (intransitive, computing, of source code) To be converted into software by compilation, usually with minimal human intervention.
   This code won’t build any more. Have you made any changes?

noun

1. (countable, uncountable) The physique of a human or animal body, or other object; constitution or structure.
   Rugby players are of sturdy build.
2. (computing, countable) Any of various versions of a software product as it is being developed for release to users.
   The computer company has introduced a new prototype build to beta testers.
3. (gaming, slang, countable) A structure, such as a building, statue, pool or forest, or a configuration of a character's items or skills, created by the player.
   I made a build that looked like the Parthenon in that game.
   In fact, thousands of D&D players constantly debate the virtues of various character builds (combinations of race, class, feat, and spell choices) and share their efforts with each other in hundreds of message boards and mailing lists. 2005, Bill Slavicsek, Richard Baker, Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies, page 279