Past Tense of “build”
The past tense of build is built; the past participle is built.
Why “build” behaves this way
"Build" descends from Old English "byldan," a weak verb related to "bold" (a dwelling, in Old English "bold" or "botl" meant "house"), meaning the verb originally referred specifically to constructing a house or dwelling before broadening into the general modern sense of constructing anything at all. The vowel shortened over time in the past tense, producing "built" from an expected longer form, the same general contraction pattern seen in several other weak verbs on this list.
The connection between "build" and an old, now-obsolete word for "house" is a reminder that many of English's most basic, everyday verbs started out with a much narrower, more specific meaning than they carry today — "build" wasn't originally a general-purpose verb for construction of any kind, but specifically for putting up a place to live, a sense now preserved only in the historical connection to the lost noun "bold."
The common confusion
"Built" is well established and seldom misused; the finer point worth knowing is transitive "build" (construct an object, as in "build a house") versus the abstract, often intransitive figurative sense ("tension built throughout the meeting"), both sharing the identical built/built conjugation.
How it's actually used
"Build" extends widely into abstract, non-physical construction — build trust, build a relationship, build momentum, build a case — all metaphorical extensions of the literal sense of assembling something from component parts over time. "Built-in" as a fixed adjective describes a feature integrated directly into a larger structure or system ("built-in shelving," "a built-in safeguard"), a common technical and everyday compound distinct from the ordinary verb's active use. Software development uses "build" as a specialized noun for a compiled, testable version of a program ("the latest build," "a nightly build"), a modern technical sense entirely removed from physical construction. Bodybuilders and athletes also use "build" as a noun describing a person's physique ("an athletic build"), another specialized nominal use derived from the verb's underlying sense of something assembled or shaped over time.
Across the tense system
"Built" functions as a standalone adjective describing physical stature ("strongly built," "a well-built man"), a use distinct from the ordinary perfect-tense participle describing something constructed, though both share identical spelling and pronunciation. "Build up" as a phrasal verb describes gradual accumulation over time ("build up savings," "tension built up before the storm"), a distinctly incremental sense that plain "build" alone doesn't always convey as clearly without the added particle. Contractors distinguish "custom-built" (constructed to a client's specific requirements) from mass-produced housing, a meaningful distinction in the construction trade built directly on this verb's core sense of assembly.
Common real mistakes
"Builded" occasionally surfaces as a mistaken regular past tense among very early learners, though "built" is otherwise a stable, rarely misused form. A separate, purely idiomatic confusion is treating "build up" (gradually increase or accumulate) as fully synonymous with plain "build," when the phrasal verb specifically emphasizes a gradual, incremental process rather than a single act of construction. A further subtlety many learners miss is the difference between "build" (assemble something new from components) and "construct" (a more formal near-synonym common in legal, architectural, and engineering writing), where the two aren't always perfectly interchangeable depending on register. A final subtlety: "build on" (use existing progress as a foundation for further work) is a distinct phrasal verb from plain "build," and dropping the preposition changes the sentence from describing incremental improvement to describing new, unrelated construction.
Examples
- They built the bridge in just under two years.
- She has built a successful business from nothing.
- He built a strong case before presenting it to the board.
- We had built enough trust to speak candidly with each other.
- The pressure builds slowly before finally releasing.
- This company was built on honesty and hard work.
- She's building a reputation as a reliable contractor.
- Rome wasn't built in a day.
Memory trick
Remember "build" traces back to an old word for "house," a narrower original sense than its broad modern meaning, and note the vowel-shortening pattern it shares with several other weak verbs that contracted a longer expected form down into a quick "-t" ending.