different between knead vs construct

English

Etymology

From Middle English kneden, from Old English cnedan, from Proto-West Germanic *knedan, from Proto-Germanic *knudan?, from Proto-Indo-European *gnet- (“to press together”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: n?d, IPA^(key): /ni?d/
• Rhymes: -i?d
• Homophones: kneed, need

Verb

knead (third-person singular simple present kneads, present participle kneading, simple past and past participle kneaded)

2. (transitive) To work and press into a mass, usually with the hands; especially, to work, as by repeated pressure with the knuckles, into a well mixed mass, the materials of bread, cake, etc.
   • 2001, Özcan Ozan, Carl Tremblay, The Sultan's Kitchen: A Turkish Cookbook

     Knead the dough by pressing down on it with the heels of both your palms and pushing it forward to stretch it, then pulling it back toward you...

3. (transitive, figuratively) To treat or form as if by kneading; to beat.
4. (intransitive, of cats) To make an alternating pressing motion with the two front paws.
   • 1991, Grace McHattie, That's cats!: a compendium of feline facts

     Cats knead with their paws when happy, just as they kneaded when feeding from their mothers as kittens.

5. (transitive) To mix thoroughly; form into a homogeneous compound.

Synonyms

• (mix): amalgamate

Translations

Noun

knead (plural kneads)

1. The act of kneading something.

See also

• baking board
• dough

Anagrams

• Danek, Kaden, naked

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin constructus, from construo (“I heap together, build, make, construct, connect grammatically”), from com- (“together”) + struo (“I heap up, pile”). Doublet of construe.

Pronunciation

Noun

• (UK) enPR: k?n'str?kt, IPA^(key): /?k?n.st??kt/
• (US) enPR: kän'str?kt, IPA^(key): /?k?n.st??kt/

Verb

• (UK, US) enPR: k?n-str?kt', IPA^(key): /k?n?st??kt/
• Rhymes: -?kt

Noun

construct (plural constructs)

1. Something constructed from parts.

2. A concept or model.

3. (genetics) A segment of nucleic acid, created artificially, for transplantation into a target cell or tissue.

Synonyms

• (something constructed from parts): construction
• (concept, model): concept, idea, model, notion, representation

Related terms

Translations

Verb

construct (third-person singular simple present constructs, present participle constructing, simple past and past participle constructed)

1. (transitive) To build or form (something) by assembling parts.

2. (transitive) To build (a sentence, an argument, etc.) by arranging words or ideas.
   • 1997, Marita Sturken, Tangled Memories

     The Vietnam War films are forms of memory that function to provide collective rememberings, to construct history, and to subsume within them the experience of the veterans.

3. (transitive, geometry) To draw (a geometric figure) by following precise specifications and using geometric tools and techniques.

Synonyms

• (build or form by assembling parts'): assemble, build, form, make, produce, put together
• (build (a sentence or argument)): form
• (draw (a geometric figure)):

Antonyms

• (build or form by assembling parts): destroy, disassemble, dismantle, ruin, wreck, take apart

Derived terms

• deconstruct
• overconstruct
• reconstruct
• unconstruct

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• construct in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• construct in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• construct at OneLook Dictionary Search