STRUCTURE

Pronunciation (US):

• STRUCTURE (noun)
  The noun STRUCTURE has 5 senses:

1. a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts
2. the manner of construction of something and the arrangement of its parts
3. the complex composition of knowledge as elements and their combinations
4. a particular complex anatomical part
5. the people in a society considered as a system organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships

  Familiarity information: STRUCTURE used as a noun is common.

• STRUCTURE (verb)
  The verb STRUCTURE has 1 sense:

1. give a structure to

  Familiarity information: STRUCTURE used as a verb is very rare.

• STRUCTURE (noun)

Meaning:

A thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

structure; construction

Context examples:

the structure consisted of a series of arches / she wore her hair in an amazing construction of whirls and ribbons

Hypernyms ("structure" is a kind of...):

artefact; artifact (a man-made object taken as a whole)

Meronyms (parts of "structure"):

base; foot; foundation; fundament; groundwork; substructure; understructure (lowest support of a structure)

plate (structural member consisting of a horizontal beam that provides bearing and anchorage)

structural member (support that is a constituent part of any structure or building)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "structure"):

balance; counterbalance; equilibrium; equipoise (equality of distribution)

public works (structures (such as highways or schools or bridges or docks) constructed at government expense for public use)

projection (any structure that branches out from a central support)

prefab (a prefabricated structure)

post and lintel (a structure consisting of vertical beams (posts) supporting a horizontal beam (lintel))

porch (a structure attached to the exterior of a building often forming a covered entrance)

platform; weapons platform (any military structure or vehicle bearing weapons)

divider; partition (a vertical structure that divides or separates (as a wall divides one room from another))

impediment; impedimenta; obstructer; obstruction; obstructor (any structure that makes progress difficult)

hill; mound (structure consisting of an artificial heap or bank usually of earth or stones)

memorial; monument (a structure erected to commemorate persons or events)

masonry (structure built of stone or brick by a mason)

lookout; lookout station; observation tower; observatory (a structure commanding a wide view of its surroundings)

landing; landing place (structure providing a place where boats can land people or goods)

offset; set-back; setoff (structure where a wall or building narrows abruptly)

shelter (a structure that provides privacy and protection from danger)

honeycomb (a structure of small hexagonal cells constructed from beeswax by bees and used to store honey and larvae)

wind tunnel (a structure resembling a tunnel where air is blown at known velocities for testing parts of aircraft)

wellhead (a structure built over a well)

shipway; slipway; ways (structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired)

vaulting ((architecture) a vaulted structure)

trestlework (a supporting structure composed of a system of connected trestles; for a bridge or pier or scaffold e.g.)

transept (structure forming the transverse part of a cruciform church; crosses the nave at right angles)

tower (a structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building)

supporting structure (a structure that serves to support something)

superstructure (structure consisting of the part of a ship above the main deck)

arena; bowl; sports stadium; stadium (a large structure for open-air sports or entertainments)

sign; signboard (structure displaying a board on which advertisements can be posted)

shoebox (a structure resembling a shoebox (as a rectangular building or a cramped room or compartment))

lamination (a layered structure)

jungle gym (a structure of vertical and horizontal rods where children can climb and play)

hull (the frame or body of ship)

building complex; complex (a whole structure (as a building) made up of interconnected or related structures)

building; edifice (a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place)

bridge; span (a structure that allows people or vehicles to cross an obstacle such as a river or canal or railway etc.)

body (the external structure of a vehicle)

boarding (a structure of boards)

bascule (a structure or device in which one end is counterbalanced by the other (on the principle of the seesaw))

balcony (an upper floor projecting from the rear over the main floor in an auditorium)

balcony (a platform projecting from the wall of a building and surrounded by a balustrade or railing or parapet)

area (a part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function)

arch ((architecture) a masonry construction (usually curved) for spanning an opening and supporting the weight above it)

arcade; colonnade (a structure composed of a series of arches supported by columns)

altar (a raised structure on which gifts or sacrifices to a god are made)

airdock; hangar; repair shed (a large structure at an airport where aircraft can be stored and maintained)

catchment (a structure in which water is collected)

coil; helix; spiral; volute; whorl (a structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops)

colonnade (structure consisting of a row of evenly spaced columns)

housing; living accommodations; lodging (structures collectively in which people are housed)

card-house; cardcastle; cardhouse; house of cards (an unstable construction with playing cards)

fountain (a structure from which an artificially produced jet of water arises)

floor; level; storey; story (a structure consisting of a room or set of rooms at a single position along a vertical scale)

establishment (a public or private structure (business or governmental or educational) including buildings and equipment for business or residence)

erection (a structure that has been erected)

entablature ((architecture) the structure consisting of the part of a classical temple above the columns between a capital and the roof)

door (a structure where people live or work (usually ordered along a street or road))

defence; defense; defensive structure (a structure used to defend against attack)

deathtrap (any structure that is very unsafe; where people are likely to be killed)

cross (a wooden structure consisting of an upright post with a transverse piece)

corner; quoin ((architecture) solid exterior angle of a building; especially one formed by a cornerstone)

column; pillar (a vertical cylindrical structure standing alone and not supporting anything (such as a monument))

Meaning:

The manner of construction of something and the arrangement of its parts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context examples:

artists must study the structure of the human body / the structure of the benzene molecule

Hypernyms ("structure" is a kind of...):

composition; constitution; makeup (the way in which someone or something is composed)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "structure"):

fabric; framework (the underlying structure)

cytoarchitectonics; cytoarchitecture (the cellular composition of a bodily structure)

architecture; computer architecture ((computer science) the structure and organization of a computer's hardware or system software)

infrastructure; substructure (the basic structure or features of a system or organization)

Meaning:

The complex composition of knowledge as elements and their combinations

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

his lectures have no structure

Hypernyms ("structure" is a kind of...):

cognition; knowledge; noesis (the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "structure"):

morphology; sound structure; syllable structure; word structure (the admissible arrangement of sounds in words)

phrase structure; sentence structure; syntax (the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences)

form; pattern; shape (a perceptual structure)

arrangement; organisation; organization; system (an organized structure for arranging or classifying)

Meaning:

A particular complex anatomical part

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure

Context example:

he has good bone structure

Hypernyms ("structure" is a kind of...):

body part (any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "structure"):

aster (star-shaped structure formed in the cytoplasm of a cell having fibers like rays that surround the centrosome during mitosis)

centromere; kinetochore (a specialized condensed region of each chromosome that appears during mitosis where the chromatids are held together to form an X shape)

nucleolar organiser; nucleolar organizer; nucleolus organiser; nucleolus organizer (the particular part of a chromosome that is associated with a nucleolus after nuclear division)

cytoskeleton (a microscopic network of actin filaments and microtubules in the cytoplasm of many living cells that gives the cell shape and coherence)

lacrimal apparatus (the structures that secrete and drain tears from the eye)

vascular structure (a structure composed of or provided with blood vessels)

valve (a structure in a hollow organ (like the heart) with a flap to insure one-way flow of fluid through it)

alveolar bed (lung tissue densely packed with alveoli)

glans (a small rounded structure; especially that at the end of the penis or clitoris)

bony labyrinth; osseous labyrinth (cavity in the petrous part of the temporal bone that contains the membranous labyrinth)

membranous labyrinth (the sensory structures of the inner ear including the labyrinthine receptors and the cochlea; contained within the bony labyrinth)

uvea (the part of the eye that contains the iris and ciliary body and choroid)

capsule (a structure that encloses a body part)

neural structure (a structure that is part of the nervous system)

fold; plica (a folded part (as in skin or muscle))

convolution; gyrus (a convex fold or elevation in the surface of the brain)

zona; zone ((anatomy) any encircling or beltlike structure)

receptor (a cellular structure that is postulated to exist in order to mediate between a chemical agent that acts on nervous tissue and the physiological response)

corona ((anatomy) any structure that resembles a crown in shape)

cornu ((anatomy) any structure that resembles a horn in shape)

rotator cuff (a supporting structure of the shoulder consisting of the muscles and tendons that attach the arm to the shoulder joint and enable the arm to move)

bridge (the hard ridge that forms the upper part of the nose)

head (the rounded end of a bone that bits into a rounded cavity in another bone to form a joint)

costa (a riblike part of a plant or animal (such as a middle rib of a leaf or a thickened vein of an insect wing))

skeletal structure (any structure created by the skeleton of an organism)

horny structure; unguis (any rigid body structure composed primarily of keratin)

plate (any flat platelike body structure or part)

ball (a more or less rounded anatomical body or mass)

cartilaginous structure (body structure given shape by cartilage)

root; tooth root (the part of a tooth that is embedded in the jaw and serves as support)

bodily cavity; cavity; cavum ((anatomy) a natural hollow or sinus within the body)

layer (thin structure composed of a single thickness of cells)

cingulum ((anatomy) an encircling structure (as the ridge around the base of a tooth))

chiasm; chiasma; decussation (an intersection or crossing of two tracts in the form of the letter X)

cauda (any taillike structure)

carina (any of various keel-shaped structures or ridges such as that on the breastbone of a bird or that formed by the fused petals of a pea blossom)

bulb (a rounded dilation or expansion in a canal or vessel or organ)

syrinx (the vocal organ of a bird)

peristome (region around the mouth in various invertebrates)

branchial arch; gill arch; gill bar (one of the bony or cartilaginous arches on each side of the pharynx that support the gills of fishes and aquatic amphibians)

branchial cleft; gill cleft; gill slit (one of a series of slit openings in the pharynxes of fishes and aquatic amphibians through which water passes)

pad (the foot or fleshy cushion-like underside of the toes of an animal)

tooth (toothlike structure in invertebrates found in the mouth or alimentary canal or on a shell)

caliculus; calycle; calyculus (a small cup-shaped structure (as a taste bud or optic cup or cavity of a coral containing a polyp))

apodeme (ridge-like ingrowth of the exoskeleton of an arthropod that supports internal organs and provides attachment points for muscles)

concha ((anatomy) a structure that resembles a shell in shape)

filament; filum (a threadlike structure (as a chainlike series of cells))

head (that part of a skeletal muscle that is away from the bone that it moves)

funiculus (any of several body structure resembling a cord)

fundus ((anatomy) the base of a hollow organ or that part of the organ farthest from its opening)

passage; passageway (a path or channel or duct through or along which something may pass)

tube; tube-shaped structure ((anatomy) any hollow cylindrical body structure)

plexus; rete (a network of intersecting blood vessels or intersecting nerves or intersecting lymph vessels)

radicle ((anatomy) a small structure resembling a rootlet (such as a fibril of a nerve))

blade (a broad flat body part (as of the shoulder or tongue))

rib (a riblike supporting or strengthening part of an animal or plant)

limbus (a border or edge of any of various body parts distinguished by color or structure)

landmark (an anatomical structure used as a point of origin in locating other anatomical structures (as in surgery) or as point from which measurements can be taken)

interstice (a small structural space between tissues or parts of an organ)

infundibulum (any of various funnel-shaped parts of the body (but especially the hypophyseal stalk))

germ (a small apparently simple structure (as a fertilized egg) from which new tissue can develop into a complete organism)

Meaning:

The people in a society considered as a system organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

social organisation; social organization; social structure; social system; structure

Context examples:

the social organization of England and America is very different / sociologists have studied the changing structure of the family

Hypernyms ("structure" is a kind of...):

scheme; system (a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole)

Meronyms (members of "structure"):

form of government; political system (the members of a social organization who are in power)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "structure"):

segregation; separatism (a social system that provides separate facilities for minority groups)

class structure (the organization of classes within a society)

pluralism (a social organization in which diversity of racial or religious or ethnic or cultural groups is tolerated)

meritocracy (a form of social system in which power goes to those with superior intellects)

matriarchate; matriarchy (a form of social organization in which a female is the family head and title is traced through the female line)

patriarchate; patriarchy (a form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line)

feudal system; feudalism (the social system that developed in Europe in the 8th century; vassals were protected by lords who they had to serve in war)

Holonyms ("structure" is a member of...):

society (an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization)

• STRUCTURE (verb)

Meaning:

Give a structure to

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

I need to structure my days

Hypernyms (to "structure" is one way to...):

coordinate; organise; organize (bring order and organization to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "structure"):

reconstitute; restructure (construct or form anew or provide with a new structure)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something