What does built mean?
Built is the past tense and past participle of the verb build, meaning to construct or make something by assembling parts. It appears constantly in everyday and technical English: houses are built, careers are built, software is built. Beyond this verbal role, built functions adjectivally to describe physical form, most often human physique — a person may be described as heavily, solidly, or slightly built — and in compounds like well-built or custom-built. The word carries connotations of solidity, permanence, and deliberate craftsmanship: something built to last is expected to endure. It derives from Middle English bilden, rooted in Old English terms connected to dwellings and construction, giving it deep historical ties to the language's oldest vocabulary for making homes. Because it serves as both verb form and adjective across registers, from casual speech to engineering reports, built is among the most versatile and frequently encountered words in English.
Past tense and past participle of "build": constructed or assembled something.
"The Romans built roads that survive to this day."
Having a specified physical form or constitution, especially of the body.
"He was a tall, heavily built man."
Usually modified by an adverb of degree or manner, as in "powerfully built" or "slight of build."
Before it meant anything about construction, "build" came from an Old English word for a dwelling — so every time you say something was built, you're linguistically putting up a house.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of built
Built comes from the Middle English verb bilden, which developed from Old English byldan, itself related to bold, an Old English word for a dwelling or house. The verb originally carried the sense of constructing a home or place of residence before broadening to construction of any kind. Its Germanic roots connect it to a family of words concerned with shelter and building rather than to Latin or Greek sources.
Related word forms
How built is actually used
When used attributively before a noun, "built" typically appears in hyphenated compounds such as "well-built," "sturdily built," or "built-in." As a standalone predicate describing physique, it usually pairs with a degree adverb (e.g., "solidly built").
Easily confused with built
"Build" is the base verb meaning to construct, while "built" is its past tense and past participle.
"Bilt" is an obsolete spelling variant of built and should not be used in modern writing.