built

built — verb

  • builtpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • builts3rd person singular
  • builting-ing form
  • builtedpast simple

1. the past simple and past participle form of build.

1.verbA1
Definition

the past simple and past participle form of build.

Example

Gabriela built a wooden stage for the school festival last summer.

past simple: built + object

By midnight, Samir had built enough shelves for the shop.

past participle in past perfect

Common collocations
  • built a house
  • built a bridge
  • built by hand
  • built from stone

Grammar Patterns

built + object

be built + time/place phrase

Usage Note

Irregular form of build. Use built for both the past simple and the past participle; the base form remains build.

Common Mistakes

Last year they build a new gym.
Last year they built a new gym.
use built, not build, for the past simple.
The house was build in 1998.
The house was built in 1998.
after be, use the past participle built.

built — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Build is the most general verb for making something by putting parts together, and built is its past form. Construct is more formal and often appears in engineering, legal, or technical writing about large projects. Assemble focuses on joining ready-made parts, as when someone assembles a shelf or a machine. Erect is narrower: it is mainly used for raising something upright, such as a statue, tent, or building frame. In everyday English, people usually say built a bridge, built a team, or built a snow fort, while formal reports may say a bridge was constructed and workers erected the steel frame.

build ↗construct ↗assemble ↗erect ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

Phrases

  • well built

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Built is the old past form of build. Build comes from Old English byldan, a verb connected with making or dwelling in a house. Over time, built became the standard past simple and past participle form in modern English.

First known use

15th century

15th century, in the meaning defined above