Definition of INFRASTRUCTURES (original) (raw)
1
: the system of public works of a country, state, or region
also : the resources (such as personnel, buildings, or equipment) required for an activity
2
: the underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a system or organization)
3
: the permanent installations required for military purposes
infrastructural
adjective
Did you know?
Infra- means "below;" so the infrastructure is the "underlying structure" of a country and its economy, the fixed installations that it needs in order to function. These include roads, bridges, dams, the water and sewer systems, railways and subways, airports, and harbors. These are generally government-built and publicly owned. Some people also speak about such things as the intellectual infrastructure or the infrastructure of science research, but the meaning of such notions can be extremely vague.
Synonyms
Examples of infrastructure in a Sentence
More money is needed to save the crumbling infrastructure of the nation's rural areas. We need to spend more money on maintaining and repairing infrastructure.
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Alone, the tax would fund freeways (40.5%), bus transit and bus rapid transit (33.5%), and major roadways and regional transportation infrastructure (22.5%). —
Coleby Phillips, The Arizona Republic, 6 Nov. 2024 Benson hopes to listen to his constituents, support the police and prioritize infrastructure. —Eleanor McCrary, The Courier-Journal, 6 Nov. 2024 Preparing for the bitter cold months ahead Last winter, damage to energy infrastructure left around 7 million children in Ukraine without electricity, heating and water. —Unicef Usa, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024 Zalando, which has taken a page out of Amazon’s playbook to build infrastructure, software and services for brands and other retailers’ e-commerce, saw B2B revenues jump to 239.7 million euros year-over-year. —Rhonda Richford, WWD, 5 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for infrastructure 
Word History
First Known Use
1927, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Time Traveler
The first known use of infrastructure was in 1927
Dictionary Entries Near infrastructure
Cite this Entry
“Infrastructure.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infrastructure. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
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Last Updated: 11 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences
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