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

But behind every innovation and infrastructure build-out is a pressing question: Who will power this next wave of growth—and where will that talent come from? —Scott Hutcheson, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025

Blue Biofuels completed the build-out of a pilot plant in 2023 and is working on upscaling and optimizing processes to finalize design and operational parameters for a full-scale commercial system. —Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2025

Adding 700,000 more heat pumps and other major electric appliances to the grid would require extensive and expensive infrastructure build-out. —Dawn White, Baltimore Sun, 2 Mar. 2025

The team said another $325 million would be needed for infrastructure, including improved road access and utilities as part of up to $1.5 billion for full build-out with extras like a hotel. —Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 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