structure
Pluralstructures
Verbstructures, structuring, structured
Pluralstructures
Formsstructures, structuring, structured
- 1The way the parts of something are arranged or organized in relation to one another, as in a novel, a society, or a crystal.
The novel's structure alternates between two timelines set decades apart.
The reorganization gave the department a flatter structure with fewer layers of management.
Similarformation, order, organization
Oppositechaos, disorder, disorganization
- 2A unified whole made up of separate parts that fit together, such as a building or a living cell.
Engineers inspected the structure for cracks after the earthquake.
A living cell is a remarkably complex structure containing dozens of specialized components.
Note
The same root runs through construct, instruct and destroy. A structure here is a made thing whose parts hold together, whether a nest of sticks or the lone gateway Margery Allingham calls "the actual structure" in The China Governess (1962).
- 3To give definite organization or form to; to arrange the parts of something according to a plan.
The company structured the deal to minimize its tax liability.
We structure our courses around weekly projects rather than final exams.
UsageOften structure something around a plan or theme: courses structured around weekly projects.
Similarorganize, arrange, design, shape, plan
Oppositedisorganize, disarrange
- 4In computing, several pieces of data grouped together and treated as a single unit.
The function returns a structure containing the user's ID, email, and creation date.
The parser fills each structure with a timestamp and a set of sensor readings.
Similarrecord
Note
A programmer's word for a bundle of named fields, such as a date and a timezone, that is stored and passed around as one value. C and its descendants shorten it to struct, and other languages call the same thing a record. Unlike the general sense of organization, it names the bundle itself rather than the way something is arranged.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- C and related languages such as C++ use the keyword struct for structures. learn.microsoft.com
- Other programming languages use record for the corresponding kind of grouped data. learn.microsoft.com
Less common meanings
- 5A set of rules that defines and governs behavior.
The new manager brought structure to the office, with firm deadlines and weekly check-ins.
Recovering patients often benefit from the structure of a strict daily routine.
UsageHere usually with no a: kids need structure; bring structure to the office.
Similardiscipline, framework, regimen
- 6A body, such as a political party, united by a cohesive purpose or shared outlook.
The movement evolved into a formal structure with elected officers and a written charter.
Several grassroots structures merged to form a national coalition before the election.
UsageOften plural, for a party's committees and branches: local party structures, consult the structures.
Similarorganization, body, group, association, institution
Note
Here the word names an organized body of people rather than an arrangement of parts. Used this way, it points to the formal bodies of a party or movement that a leader is expected to answer to.
- 7In fishing, any feature of the bottom or object lying underwater, such as a dead tree or a sunken car, where fish tend to gather.
- 8In mathematics and logic, a set together with a collection of finitary functions and relations defined on it.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
This word came through Middle French structure from Latin structura, meaning a fitting together or a building. That comes from struere (past participle structus), meaning to pile up, arrange, assemble, or build.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- English structure came through Middle French structure from Latin structura. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin structura meant a fitting together or a building. en.wiktionary.org
- Structura derives from struere, whose past participle is structus and whose meanings include piling up, arranging, assembling and building. en.wiktionary.org