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prefab

prefab

4 5.1
Made in separate parts so people can move them and put them together on site
  • adjective
  • /ˈpriːfæb/
translation icon : prefabricado
  • Many families are choosing prefab homes for their affordability and quick construction.
  • prefab home
  • prefab builders

Examples

  • The office is a prefab aluminum box with a flat roof that frightens me during snowfalls.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • A second and much bigger prefab building was put up next to the first one.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • We will be developing prefab houses.

  • But for right now, we decided that real estate and quality prefab homes... was the right way to go.

  • Can we just say that if the wood isn't here on time, we'll have the prefab stuff ready to go?

  • Uh, actually IKEA makes prefab entertainment units.

  • I had to break down and hire a plumber to get that prefab shower installed.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • The four of them lived near the school at the end of a cotton field in a prefab shack with peeling yellow paint.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Cooperative firms of a traditional bent are learning to craft posts to the uniform quality standards required by the prefab home builders.

    Academic text (1997)
  • HQ-Alpha Continent Station Nine was a collection of graceless but functional white prefab buildings, bright in the subtropical sun, shaded here and there by slender native trees.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

prefabricated
vsprefab
  • Specialized
2 4.3

Made earlier in parts so it can be quickly put together or used

emphasizes standard sections built for transport and on site assembly
precast
vsprefab
  • Specialized
1 6.0

Concrete parts made in their final shape before delivery to the building site

is about standard components designed for transport and later assembly
pre-manufactured
vsprefab
  • Specialized
3.7

Made in a factory before being assembled at the final site

focuses on producing standard transportable components for on site fitting
preassembled
vsprefab
3.7

Put together before you buy or use it

is about manufacture in separate standard parts meant for on site assembly
preformed
vsprefab
4.4

Made in a set shape before use

highlights standard transportable components rather than just an early shape
preshaped
vsprefab
  • Specialized
4.4

Made before use so it already has the right outline

refers to making uniform sections for transport and site assembly

How Prefabricated

prefab
4 5.1
factory-made
1 3.1
modular
  • Specialized
17 5.4
paneled
  • US
4.3

Surface Forms

prefab positive

Etymology

The word prefab is short for prefabricated, where pre- means 'before' and fabric comes from a word meaning 'to make', just like fabric, cloth, which is something made. So a prefab item is 'made before' and then moved to the building site to be put together.