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

Fair warning: One piece of the puzzle of Maas' expert storytelling (and world-building!) comes in the form of some rather raunchy intimate scenes between her protagonists — and maybe some side characters too, every once in a while. —Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024

The elaborate world-building and precinct plot yielded a timeless film that would be studied and enjoyed for decades to come. —Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 31 Mar. 2024

Although sometimes dismissed as a bunch of guys in rubber suits pushing each other into balsa wood skyscrapers (and what’s wrong with that?!), the Godzilla series is a triumph of sci-fi world-building and practical effects. —Katie Rife, EW.com, 28 Mar. 2024

The books, in which Earth is faced with an alien invasion, told an epic, high-stakes story with intricate world-building, time-jumping and powerful themes. —Wendy Lee, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024

Looks to be an interesting stew of cowboy action, robot mayhem, and kooky world-building. —Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024

There’s something to the shock of killing a story’s darlings, but the film doesn’t offer much in the way of internal world-building (do the machines really want to take over because humans are just…annoying?) or its central love story to make up for the holes left by these disappearances. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024

After all, such stories are liable to lose their ideal balance of narrative drive, character development and world-building in the translation from page to screen. —Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024

Credit season 1 for sheer world-building dexterity, too. —Darren Franich, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above