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Glite Dictionary
to build in

to build in

58 3.8
To make something a permanent part of something larger
  • phrasal verb
  • /bɪlt ɪn/
translation icon : incorporar
  • You have to build in a fail-safe.
  • build in time

Which highways are you building in your brain?

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Examples

  • Make sure we build in proper time to really meet with the kids.

    22 July (2018)

  • So they've actually built in compensation for that problem.

  • We need to start building in new forms of power.

    ReasonTV

  • Why do these companies build in back doors?

  • How do you suggest people build in this check in?

  • So we're actually going to build in this department.

  • So how do we build in when young people particularly can access it?

  • You gotta build in enough time to brake before chicane one.

    Gran Turismo (2023)

  • Here is the self-defense mechanism you asked me to build in.

    Die Another Day (2002)

  • To improve safety, the team decided to build in additional security features into the software.

Synonyms

to incorporate
vsto build in
182 4.5

Add something into a plan or system

is about making something an essential lasting element
to integrate
vsto build in
179 4.1

To join things or ideas so they form one whole

stresses joining into a system rather than emphasising permanence
to englobe
vsto build in
8.7

Include something within a larger group or system

is focused on full inclusion but less on permanent belonging

Antonyms

to take out
948 1.9

To remove something from a place or container

to detach
16 4.0

To come apart from something it is connected to

How Integrated

to embed
88 4.8
to integrate
179 4.1
to build in
58 3.8
to include
∞ 1.0
to add
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

build in infinitive
building in present participle
builds in third person singular
built in past
built in past participle

Morphology

build + in

The meaning 'to make something an integral or permanent part of something else' is directly derivable from combining 'build' (to construct) with 'in' (inside/into), which signals putting or integrating something within. This verb+particle composition follows a common, compositional pattern (similar to 'fit in', 'put in') and parallels cross-linguistic expressions for 'incorporate', so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would very likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

Build in comes from a simple building picture: a worker fits a shelf into a wall so it becomes part of the wall. The parts build and in show this literal idea, and that's why build in means to make something permanent or 'part of something'.