1. a. The act or process of constructing. b. The art, trade, or work of building: an engineer trained in highway construction; worked in construction for seven years.

2. a. A structure, such as a building, framework, or model. b. Something fashioned or devised systematically: a nation that was glorious in its historical construction. c. An artistic composition using various materials; an assemblage or a collage.

3. The way in which something is built or put together: a shelter of simple construction.

4. The interpretation or explanation given to an expression or a statement: I was inclined to put a favorable construction on his reply.

5. Grammar. a. The arrangement of words to form a meaningful phrase, clause, or sentence. b. A group of words so arranged.

- construc´tional adjective - construc´tionally adverb

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from InfoSoft International, Inc. All rights reserved.