infrastructure

Bridgezipf 4.46

Pronunciation

/ˈɪnfrəstrʌktʃə/(IN-frah-struk-cher)

Part of speech

nounneutral/formal

Chinese

基础设施；基础架构（社会或组织正常运作所需的基本系统和设施）

Definition

The basic physical and organisational structures needed for society or a business to function; roads, power systems, buildings, and other fundamental systems.

Word family

  • infrastructural/ˌɪnfrəˈstrʌktʃərəl/(adj)基础设施的

Collocations

  • infrastructure investment
  • digital infrastructure
  • infrastructure project
  • transport infrastructure
  • IT infrastructure
  • ageing infrastructure
  • infrastructure upgrade

Examples

  1. 1.The government committed £30 billion to infrastructure investment, focusing on rail, roads, and broadband.
  2. 2.The startup's rapid growth was constrained by its outdated IT infrastructure.

Synonyms

  • framework/ˈfreɪmwɜːk/— structure within which something operates
  • foundation/faʊnˈdeɪʃən/— underlying base
  • systems/ˈsɪstəmz/— organised structures — more general

Etymology

from Latin "infra-" (below, beneath) + "structure" — the underlying structure beneath a society