Constructing

How to spell constructing

12 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce constructing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does constructing mean?

1. verbBuilding or assembling something from separate parts or materials.

Constructing in a sentence

• The crew spent eight months constructing the new bridge across the river.

• She enjoys constructing detailed model railways in her garage.

Where does constructing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the present participle of the verb 'construct', which English took from the Latin construere, meaning 'to pile up together' or 'to build'. That verb was formed from the prefix con-, meaning 'together', and struere, meaning 'to pile, arrange, or build', the same root that gives us 'structure', 'instruct', and 'destroy'. The past participle of construere was constructus, and it was from this form that scholars in the 1600s shaped the English verb. The literal idea of heaping materials together survives clearly in the modern sense of putting up a building or assembling something from parts. The shared struct- root is worth remembering for spelling, since it keeps the 'ct' cluster steady across the whole word family.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• struct (from struere: to build, pile up)
• -ing (present participle/gerund suffix)