build-out
noun
variants
or less commonly buildout
plural build-outs also buildouts
1
a
: work done to make a structure or system ready for use or to bring a construction or development project to a completed state
When the build-out of the campus is complete, as many as 7,500 students will attend class there.—Janis L. Magin
b
: work done to expand a system (such as a telecommunications system)
The buildout of new infrastructure for digital cellular telephony is at such an early stage that it's impossible to predict what the performance of some of the systems will be.—Brian C. Fenton
c
: a project or process involving such work
Of course, the Chinese are traveling and spending more in their own country too, in part because of a gigantic infrastructure build-out; China will have constructed more high-speed-rail capacity by the end of the decade than is currently operating in the rest of the world, some 10,000 miles' (16,000 km) worth.—Bill Saporito
2
: a state in which an area has been fully developed
At build-out, the community is planned to include retail, restaurant and office space, a hotel, urban-style and loft apartments, townhomes, and condominiums.—The Flower Mound (Texas) Leader
Cite this Entry
“Build-out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/build-out. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
