built



built like a tank

Having a physique or structure that is strong and physically imposing. Man, you're built like a tank! You'd be a great addition to the football team as a linebacker! If you're going out in this snow, take my car—it's built like a tank!
See also: built, like, tank

be built like a brick shithouse

1. slang To be very muscular and strong. Bert is built like a brick shithouse, so get him to help you move all this furniture!
2. slang To be very buxom and curvaceous. Mary has a great body—she's built like a brick shithouse.
See also: brick, built, like, shithouse

be built on sand

To be unstable. A relationship based entirely on physical attraction is built on sand and won't last long.
See also: built, on, sand

built like a brick outhouse

 and built like a brick shithouse
Fig. well-built-either strong or full-sized. (Built more strongly than is typical. The second form is potentially offensive. Use only with discretion.) Look at that guy's muscles—he's built like a brick shithouse. This garage is built like a brick outhouse. It'll last for years.
See also: brick, built, like

made to order

made to one's own measurements and on request. (See also make something to order.) This suit fits so well because it's made to order. His feet are so big that all his shoes have to be made to order.
See also: made, order

Rome was not built in a day.

Prov. It takes a lot of time to achieve something important. Professor: When will you finish your research project? Student: It'll take me a while. Rome wasn't built in a day, you know.
See also: built, not, Rome

build in something

also build something in
to include a feature when something is being put together You should build in some way to cancel the contract if things don't work out. Software developers built in a word processor.
See also: build

be built like a brick shithouse

  (British & Australian very informal!)
if someone is built like a brick shithouse, they are very strong and very big I wasn't going to argue with him - he was built like a brick shithouse.
See also: brick, built, like, shithouse

be built like a tank

if a person or a vehicle is built like a tank, they are very strong and very big These cars are built like tanks. I should imagine he's pretty strong - he's built like a tank.
See also: built, like, tank

be built on sand

if something is built on sand, it is not firmly established and is likely to fail They seem quite happy now but I have a feeling that this marriage is built on sand.
See also: built, on, sand

Rome wasn't built in a day.

something that you say which means that it takes a long time to do an important job 'Sometimes it feels like we've spent all our lives decorating this house.' 'Well, Rome wasn't built in a day.'
See also: built, Rome

build in

Also, build into. Construct or include as an integral part; also, make automatic, concomitant, or inherent. For example, Frank Lloyd Wright liked to build in as much furniture as possible, not just bookcases but desks, tables, and the like , or We've got to build some slack into the schedule for this project. The literal usage referring to physical objects dates from the late 1920s. The figurative arose a decade or so later. Both are frequently used in past participle form, that is, built in.
See also: build

made to order

Also, built to order. Very suitable, as in Her new assignment was built to order for her. In its literal use, this idiom refers to an item fashioned according to particular instructions. [Mid-1900s]
See also: made, order

not built that way

Not so disposed or inclined, as in I can't apologize for something I didn't do-I'm just not built that way. [Late 1800s]
See also: built, not, way

Rome wasn't built in a day

Important work takes time. This expression functions as an injunction or plea for someone to be patient. For example, You can't expect her to finish this project in the time allotted; Rome wasn't built in a day . This phrase was a French proverb in the late 1100s but was not recorded in English until 1545.
See also: built, Rome

build in

v.
To construct or include something as an integral part of another thing: When you install the new bathroom, make sure to build in a towel rack. We didn't add shelves to the wall; we built them in when we constructed the house.
See also: build

built like a brick shithouse

1. mod. pertaining to a very strong and well-built person. (Usually refers to a male. Refers to the sturdiness of an outhouse [outdoor toilet] built of brick rather than the traditional wooden outhouse. Usually objectionable.) Chuck is built like a brick shithouse. The only fat on him is where his brain ought to be.
2. mod. pertaining to a beautiful and curvaceous woman. (Refers to the imagined curving and uneven walls of an outhouse built hastily and carelessly of brick. This sense is a misinterpretation of the first sense. Usually objectionable.) Look at that dame! She’s really built like a brick shithouse.
See also: brick, built, like, shithouse

jerry-built

mod. carelessly and awkwardly built. The lawyer’s case was jerry-built, but the jury bought it anyway.

jerry built

Constructed in a cheap, ramshackle, or otherwise insubstantial fashion. Although the phrase is widely thought to have come from the British World War I slang term for “German,” it well antedates the 20th century. Some possibilities are an old English word for tumble, Jericho (as in Joshua causing the walls to come tumbling down).
See also: built, Jerry

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Uma-Hinduism, Indian, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi
Petronel-English (Archaic)
Hailwic-Ancient Germanic
Koit-Estonian
Funda-Turkish
BastiaanBAHS-tee-ah:nDutch