construction

Etymology

From Middle English construccioun, construction, from Old French construction, from Latin cōnstructiō, from cōnstruere, present active infinitive of cōnstruō. Morphologically construct + -ion.

noun

1. The process of constructing.
   Construction is underway on the new bridge.
2. Anything that has been constructed.
   The engineer marvelled at his construction.
3. The trade of building structures.
   He had worked in construction all his life.
4. A building, model or some other structure.
   The office was a construction of steel and glass.
5. (art) A (usually non-representational) structure, such as a collage etc.
   "Construction in string and clockwork" took first prize.
6. The manner in which something is built.
   A thing of simple construction.
   Nothing could be more business-like than the construction of the stout dams, and nothing more gently rural than the limpid lakes, with the grand old forest trees marshalled round their margins like a veteran army that had marched down to drink, only to be stricken motionless at the water’s edge. 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad
7. (grammar) A group of words arranged to form a meaningful phrase.
8. The act or result of construing the meaning of something.
   American conservatives tend to favor strict construction of the Constitution.
9. The meaning or interpretation of a text, action etc.; the way something is viewed by an observer or onlooker.
   He had considered sending Lucille away to stay with relations. But then people might have put the worst construction on it – might believe she had done something she shouldn't have. 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial, published 2007, page 95
10. (geometry) A geometric figure of arcs and line segments that is drawable with a straightedge and compass.