constructor

con·struct·or
C3O1N1S1T1R1U1C3T1O1R1
US/kənˈstɹʌktɚ/UK/kənˈstɹʌktə/

noun

A person who, or thing that, constructs.

Opposite
CommonScrabble 15

Meanings

nounconstructor (plural constructors)

plural constructors

  1. A person who, or thing that, constructs.

    All this time the great work over which South Australia was spending large sums of money, aided by unceasing efforts on the part of her telegraph constructors, was going on.

    1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 134
    1 more example

    It's a big help in solving cryptograms if you know how a cryptogram is constructed. The constructor normally uses two alphabets, one for plaintext, one for the substitute cipher letters.

    1981, Norma Gleason, Cryptograms and Spygrams, Courier Corporation, →ISBN, page 7

    Antonyms: destructor

  2. automotiveA company which, or individual who, builds racing vehicles. In Formula One, constructor status is strictly defined by the rules, but in other motorsports the term is merely a descriptor. Depending on the racing rules, some constructors (e.g. Cosworth) may provide vehicles to racing teams who are not themselves constructors, while others are both teams and constructors (Ducati Corse, Scuderia Ferrari).
  3. object-oriented programmingA class method that creates and initializes each instance of an object.

    Antonyms: destructor

  4. UScrosswordingA person who creates crossword puzzles.

    Synonyms: setter, compiler

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA person who, or thing that, constructs.

Opposite

nounA class method that creates and initializes each instance of an object.

Opposite

nounA person who creates crossword puzzles.

Narrower
copy constructordefault constructorempty constructornullary constructor

More synonyms by meaning

nounsomeone who contracts for and supervises construction (as of a building)

Similar
Broader
Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Latincon-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*ster-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*sterh₃-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*strew-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*stréweti
  10. Proto-Italic*strowō
  11. Latinstruō
  12. Latincōnstruō
  13. Medieval Latincōnstrūctor
  14. Englishconstructor

Borrowed from Medieval Latin cōnstrūctor, from Latin cōnstruō + Medieval Latin -or. By surface analysis, construct + -or.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian констру́ктор
  • констру́ктор (konstrúktor)in object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Czech konstruktér, konstruktor
  • konstruktérone who constructs
  • konstruktorin object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Esperanto konstruilo
  • konstruiloin object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Finnish rakentaja, rakentaja
  • rakentajaone who constructs
  • rakentajain automotive: someone who builds racing vehicles
  • konstruktoriin object oriented programming: code that creates objects
  • muodostinin object oriented programming: code that creates objects
  • rakentajain object oriented programming: code that creates objects
French écurie, constructeur
  • écuriein automotive: someone who builds racing vehicles
  • constructeurin object oriented programming: code that creates objects
German Konstruktor
  • Konstruktorin object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Greek κατασκευαστής
  • κατασκευαστής (kataskevastís)in object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Hebrew פעולה בונה
  • פעולה בונה (pe'ulah bonah)in object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Italian costruttore
  • costruttorein object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Japanese コンストラクタ, 構築子
  • コンストラクタ (konsutorakuta)in object oriented programming: code that creates objects
  • 構築子 (kōchikushi)in object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Korean 생성자
  • 생성자 (saengseongja)in object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Polish konstruktor, konstruktorka
  • konstruktorone who constructs
  • konstruktorkaone who constructs
  • konstruktorin automotive: someone who builds racing vehicles
  • konstruktorkain automotive: someone who builds racing vehicles
  • konstruktorin object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Portuguese construtor
  • construtorin object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Russian констру́ктор, строи́тель
  • констру́ктор (konstrúktor)one who constructs
  • строи́тель (stroítelʹ)one who constructs
  • констру́ктор (konstrúktor)in object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Swedish konstruktor
  • konstruktorin object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Ukrainian констру́ктор, будіве́льник
  • констру́ктор (konstrúktor)one who constructs
  • будіве́льник (budivélʹnyk)one who constructs
  • констру́ктор (konstrúktor)in object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Vietnamese hàm khởi tạo
  • hàm khởi tạoin object oriented programming: code that creates objects
Cite this entry
APA

constructor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/constructor

MLA

“constructor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/constructor. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “constructor,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/constructor.

Source: constructor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.