Build vs Built – What’s the difference?

When you hear the word “build,” what do you think of? Do you think about building with Legos or blocks? That’s a lot like how I think about build and built. However, there are actually more than one type of build and built going on here:

1. Build

Build is a verb that means to construct, erect or put together. It can be used as both a noun and an adjective.

When you’re building something, you’re using your hands to put together all of its parts–the foundation, walls and roof are all part of building a house!

You can also use build as an adjective when describing someone who has built something new or repaired something old: “My dad is good at building things.”

2. Built

Built is the past participle of build, and it’s used to describe something that has been constructed. For example:

“The house was built in 1905.”

Built is also used to refer to a person’s character or personality. For example:

“She has a strong willed personality.”

It can also be used to describe one’s health or fitness level, such as “He was built like an athlete.”

3. To build is to construct, erect or put together.

To build is to construct, erect or put together. For example: “The builders built a house.” The verb ‘build’ is often used with the preposition ‘on’ or ‘upon’. For example: “We are building on our land.”

In this sense, it is possible for one person to be both builder and builder’s mate (or labourer). However in British English we usually say that two people are working as one team when they work together on tasks such as this; therefore if you want to describe two people working on something then use the phrase “working together”.

4. To built is to create something.

Built is a past tense of build. It’s also an adjective, meaning “created or constructed.” Built can be used to describe something that has been built by someone else, or something that you have created yourself. For example:

• The house was built in the 1920s and has been renovated many times since then.
• The new bridge was built over the river last year by engineers from across Europe who came together to collaborate on this project as part of their professional development program at work.

You can build a house, but you may not have built it yourself.

You can build a garage, but you might not have built it yourself.

You can build a wall, but you might not have built it yourself.

You can build a car, but you might not have built it yourself (unless you are an auto mechanic). Even then, your boss probably hired someone else to do all of the work for him/herself!

You can also build bridges and tables and sheds and tree houses…

So, to recap: build is a verb, while built is an adjective. You can build something or someone, but you may not have built it yourself. This is because the verb “built” refers to creating something (like a house) while the adjective “built” describes something that has been constructed or erected (for example).