Meaning of structure in English

structure

noun

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ˈstrʌk.tʃər/ us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ˈstrʌk.tʃɚ/

structure noun (ARRANGEMENT)

B2 [ C or U ]

the way in which the parts of a system or object are arranged or organized, or a system arranged in this way:

the grammatical structure of a sentence

The structure of this protein is particularly complex.

They have a very old-fashioned management structure.

Some people like the sense of structure that a military lifestyle imposes.

More examples

The company has a complex organizational structure.
We have a differential salary structure based on employees' experience.
The report homed in on the weaknesses in the management structure.
Microscopy is an invaluable technique for studying the structure of cells.
Many organizations have a pyramid structure .

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Frames & structures

See more results »

Want to learn more?

Improve your vocabulary with English Vocabulary in Use from Cambridge.
Learn the words you need to communicate with confidence.

structure noun (BUILDING)

C2 [ C ]

something that has been made or built from parts, especially a large building:

The proposed new office tower is a steel and glass structure 43 storeys high.

Synonyms

building
construction (BUILDING)
edifice formal
erection (BUILDING)

More examples

a two-tiered structure
a rigid steel and concrete structure
Lightning conductors protect buildings and tall structures from lightning strikes.
There was a large, ball-like structure on top of the building.
In a two-stage operation, the multi-spoked steel structure will be raised to the vertical.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Buildings in general

See more results »

structure noun (BODY PART)

[ C ] medical specialized

an organ in the body, or part of an organ, that does a particular job

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Substances & structures in the body

See more results »

structure

verb [ T ]

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ˈstrʌk.tʃər/ us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ˈstrʌk.tʃɚ/

to plan, organize, or arrange the parts of something:

We must carefully structure and rehearse each scene.

a well-structured argument

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Classifying and creating order

See more results »

(Definition of structure from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

structure | American Dictionary

structure

noun

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ˈstrʌk·tʃər/

structure noun (ARRANGEMENT)

[ C/U ]

the arrangement or organization of parts in a system:

molecular structure

[ U ] Grammatical structure changes from language to language.

[ C ] When the United States broke away from England, the social structure did not change very much.

structure noun (BUILDING)

[ C ]

something built, such as a building or a bridge:

The bridge is the longest steel structure in the world.

structure

verb [ T ]

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ˈstrʌk·tʃər/

to arrange or organize something:

Office hours are structured to accommodate individual workers’ needs.

(Definition of structure from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

structure | Business English

structure

noun

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ˈstrʌktʃər/ us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

[ C ]

the way in which the parts of a system are arranged or organized, or the system itself:

The company attributed the strong growth to a decentralized corporate structure.

pricing/charging/fee structure The phone uses a simplified pricing structure based on minutes of talk time.

pay/tax/rate structure A new regional pay structure has been introduced.

the structure of sth Market forces will inevitably bring about changes in the structure of the wholesale sector.

[ C ]

an object such as a building, that has been built or arranged in a particular way:

Their new head office is an impressive glass and steel structure.

[ C or U ]

the condition of being well arranged or organized:

have/lack/need (a) structure His financial plans lack structure.

Examples of structure

structure

Constructions : a construction grammar approach to argument structure.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The frequency of repetition across target structures varied.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A second paradigm focuses on the neural structures involved in either planning or control, respectively.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Because we are referring to an abstract structure, the individual differences in representation will not have an impact on ordinary speech.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Organic systems assimilate information about the world mediated by their internal structure.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Two contrasting dispersal models, one purely diffusive and one stratified, were then chosen to simulate colonization for the two contrasting initial genetic structures.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is too bad that this purely internal data structure must be 'mentioned' in the interface.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

One extension of this point returns us to the issue of institutional structures within civil society.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The spatial structure of the cross and its orientation are still clearly discernible, yet its size has been reduced significantly.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

No discrepancy in the ability to define anatomic structure was encountered for the body or outflow regions of the right ventricle.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Past studies have focused on the effects of density on spoken language processing, rather than the effects of density on the structure of lexical representations.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It gives insight into the format of experts' knowledge structures; experts turn out to use mainly frame representations.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Distributed representations of structure : a theory of analogical access and mapping.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The formal models that are consistent with a critical period rely on innate representations of abstract structure.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Regular secondary structure elements are represented in black.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of structure

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with structure

structure

These are words often used in combination with structure.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

abandoned structure

Arsonists burned the abandoned structure in the early 1970s.

From

Wikipedia

This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.

abstract structure

Because we are referring to an abstract structure, the individual differences in representation will not have an impact on ordinary speech.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

adjacent structure

The library and its adjacent structure are detailed so that the viewer is gently aware of new sills and metal doorframes and an illuminated linear storage unit.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all collocations with structure

Translations of structure

in Chinese (Traditional)

安排, 結構, 構造…

Meaning of structure in English

structure noun (ARRANGEMENT)

structure noun (BUILDING)

structure noun (BODY PART)

structure | American Dictionary

structure noun (ARRANGEMENT)

structure noun (BUILDING)

structure | Business English

See also

Examples of structure

Collocations with structure

structure

Translations of structure

Browse

Learn more with +Plus

Learn more with +Plus