Constructed

How to spell constructed

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce constructed

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does constructed mean?

1. verbBuilt or put together from separate parts, whether a physical object or an abstract argument.

Constructed in a sentence

• The engineers constructed the bridge over the course of three years.

• The lawyer carefully constructed an argument from the available evidence.

Where does constructed come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb construere, which combined con- meaning 'together' with struere meaning 'to pile up' or 'to build'. Quite literally, then, to construct something was to heap materials together into a finished structure. The same struere root gives English a whole family of building words, including 'structure', 'instruct', and 'destroy', the last of which simply reverses the action. English took 'construct' as a verb in the early 1600s, and the regular past form 'constructed' followed naturally with the standard -ed ending. The spelling trap lies less in the ending and more in the silent doubling of sounds across the -nstr- cluster, where careful writers must keep the single c, the n, and the full str sequence intact.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• struct (build, from struere: to pile up)
• -ed (past tense suffix)