build-out

noun

ˈbild-ˌau̇t 

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

Examples of build-out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Florida Division of Emergency Management has overseen its build-out and management. —Julia Manchester, The Hill, 30 June 2025

The financial pressure is most severe in urban hospitality markets like Boston, New York, and Washington DC, where even a modest restaurant build-out can run into the millions. —William Jones, USA Today, 23 June 2025

Despite the diversified nature of the company, the upside surprises are coming from their involvement in the global data center build-out. —Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 20 June 2025

That means Nvidia’s fastest-growing segment is now responsible for nearly 89% of all revenue — a sign of how deeply embedded its chips are in the AI build-out. —Shannon Carroll, Quartz, 28 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for build-out

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• devout
• dropout