v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Built p. pr. & vb. n. Building. The regular imp. & p. p. Builded is antiquated. ] [ OE. bulden, bilden, AS. byldan to build, fr. bold house; cf. Icel. bōl farm, abode, Dan. bol small farm, OSw. bol, böle, house, dwelling, fr. root of Icel. būa to dwell; akin to E. be, bower, boor. √97. ] 1. To erect or construct, as an edifice or fabric of any kind; to form by uniting materials into a regular structure; to fabricate; to make; to raise. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nor aught availed him now
To have built in heaven high towers. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To raise or place on a foundation; to form, establish, or produce by using appropriate means. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who builds his hopes in air of your good looks. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To increase and strengthen; to increase the power and stability of; to settle, or establish, and preserve; -- frequently with up; as, to build up one's constitution. [ 1913 Webster ]

I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up. Acts xx. 32. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To erect; construct; raise; found; frame. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To exercise the art, or practice the business, of building. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To rest or depend, as on a foundation; to ground one's self or one's hopes or opinions upon something deemed reliable; to rely; as, to build on the opinions or advice of others. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Form or mode of construction; general figure; make; as, the build of a ship; a great build on a man. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who builds; one whose occupation is to build, as a carpenter, a shipwright, or a mason. [ 1913 Webster ]

In the practice of civil architecture, the builder comes between the architect who designs the work and the artisans who execute it. Eng. Cyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of constructing, erecting, or establishing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hence it is that the building of our Sion rises no faster. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The art of constructing edifices, or the practice of civil architecture. [ 1913 Webster ]

The execution of works of architecture necessarily includes building; but building is frequently employed when the result is not architectural. Hosking. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. That which is built; a fabric or edifice constructed, as a house, a church, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thy sumptuous buildings and thy wife's attire
Have cost a mass of public treasury. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. the act of building up an accumulation.
Syn. -- build-up. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. the events, such as advertising or publicity, causing increased interest in some coming event. The buildup to Superbowl XXIV was the most intense of the series. [ PJC ]