world-building

noun

world-build·​ing ˈwərl(d)-ˈbil-diŋ 

variants or less commonly world building or worldbuilding

: the creation of a fictional world (especially within the science fiction and fantasy genres) that is believable and consistent within the context of the story

The game pushes the limits of the PS4 graphically and packs so much mythos and backstory into its world-building that at times it feels more like a novel than a video game.

—Patrick Shanley

In my opinion, no one does world-building as well as Kate Elliott. It's subtle … but the world, culture, and societies she creates feel solid. If you think about them when you close the book, you can see how they could work; how the economics could work, how the governing could work, how the cultures formed.

—Michelle West

In postapocalyptic stories, world building typically emphasizes the new reality: new vocabulary to learn, new systems of government to understand, new social norms to parse.

—Shirley Li

It sounds like a lot to take in, but "The Sandman" neatly avoids many genre show pitfalls. While at times its premise and worldbuilding do feel a bit murky, for the most part, it's even less confusing for a layman to get into than other sprawling similar shows such as "Westworld" or "The Witcher."

—Lauren Sarner

Examples of world-building in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Although time consuming and somewhat risky, the approach of creating a new language presented the opportunity for artists to not just evoke the feeling of the show’s world in its music, but add something tangible to its overall lore and world-building. —Cecilia Ciocchetti, Rolling Stone, 3 Dec. 2024

Chu’s vibrant world-building is a significant part of that. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Nov. 2024

What that means is two-fold: a series that captures Game of Thrones’s extensive, fantasy world-building and the drama of political succession and a show dropping on HBO’s premier Sunday night spot that everyone wants to talk about the morning after. —Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 18 Nov. 2024

Which is too bad, because the movie’s striking futuristic aesthetic, its layered world-building, its epic, expansive cinematography are all ingredients for a great blockbuster. —Travis Bean, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above