# construct

Pronunciation: say "kuhn-STRUKT" /kənˈstɹʌkt/

## Verb

1. To build or form something by assembling its separate parts.
   - Simple: To build something by putting its parts together.
   - _Engineers construct large dams to control the flow of rivers._
   - _The team constructed a temporary shelter from scrap metal._
4. To build a sentence, argument, or similar unit by arranging words or ideas.
   - Simple: To build a sentence or argument by putting words and ideas in order.
   - _Skilled lawyers construct careful arguments to persuade the jury._
   - _He constructed each sentence with precise and deliberate word choice._
5. In geometry, to draw a figure exactly to given specifications using geometric tools and methods, such as a compass and straightedge.
   - Simple: To draw a shape exactly by following clear steps and using math tools.
   - _With only a compass and straightedge, you can construct an equilateral triangle._
   - _She constructed the perpendicular bisector of the line segment._

## Noun

Pronunciation: say "KON-strukt" US /ˈkɑn.stɹʌkt/, UK /ˈkɒn.stɹʌkt/

2. A concept or theoretical model built up in the mind rather than observed directly.
   - Simple: An idea or model that someone builds in their mind, not a real object.
   - _Gender as a social construct has been widely debated by sociologists._
   - _Researchers treated motivation as a construct measured through several survey items._
3. A thing that has been built or formed by assembling parts.
   - Simple: A thing that is built or made from separate parts.
   - _The sculpture was an elaborate construct of welded steel rods._
   - _The footbridge is a remarkable construct combining stone and iron._
6. In genetics, an artificially made segment of nucleic acid intended for transfer into a target cell or tissue.
   - Simple: A piece of genetic material that scientists make in a lab to put into a cell.
   - _Researchers injected the DNA construct into the embryo._
   - _The construct was designed to express a fluorescent protein._

## Origin

Borrowed from Latin cōnstrūctus, from cōnstruō ("to heap together"), formed from com- ("together") plus struō ("I heap up, pile"). It is a doublet of construe.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/construct (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).