INFRASTRUCTURE

n. foundation, basis, substructure, underlying features of an operation

Infrastructure is generally structural elements that provide the framework supporting an entire structure. The term has diverse meanings in different fields, but is perhaps most widely understood to refer to roads, airports, and utilities. These various elements may collectively be termed civil infrastructure, municipal infrastructure, or simply public works, although they may be developed and operated as private-sector or government enterprises. In other applications, infrastructure may refer to information technology, informal and formal channels of communication, software development tools, political and social networks, beliefs held by members of particular groups. Still underlying these more general uses is the concept that infrastructure provides organizing structure and support for the system or organization it serves, whether it is a city, a nation, or a corporation. Economically infrastructure could be seen to be the structural elements of an economy which allow for production of goods and services without themselves being part of the production process. e.g. roads allows the transport of raw materials and finished products.
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Noun
1. the basic structure or features of a system or organization
(synonym) substructure
(hypernym) structure
(part-holonym) system
2. the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; "the industrial base of Japan"
(synonym) base
(hypernym) store, stock, fund
(part-meronym) communication system, communication equipment

n. infrastructure, substructure

Basic support services for computing, particularly national networks.
See also information superhighway.
(1995-06-27)