world-building

noun

world-build·ing ˈwərl(d)-ˈbil-diŋ

variants or less commonly world building or worldbuilding

: the creation of a fictional world (especially within the science fiction and fantasy genres) that is believable and consistent within the context of the story

The game pushes the limits of the PS4 graphically and packs so much mythos and backstory into its world-building that at times it feels more like a novel than a video game.—

Patrick Shanley

In my opinion, no one does world-building as well as Kate Elliott. It's subtle … but the world, culture, and societies she creates feel solid. If you think about them when you close the book, you can see how they could work; how the economics could work, how the governing could work, how the cultures formed.—

Michelle West

In postapocalyptic stories, world building typically emphasizes the new reality: new vocabulary to learn, new systems of government to understand, new social norms to parse.—

Shirley Li

It sounds like a lot to take in, but "The Sandman" neatly avoids many genre show pitfalls. While at times its premise and worldbuilding do feel a bit murky, for the most part, it's even less confusing for a layman to get into than other sprawling similar shows such as "Westworld" or "The Witcher."—

Lauren Sarner

Examples of world-building in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Another performance, at a bigger venue, with more theatrical video world-building moments lies ahead. —

John Paul Bullock, SPIN, 14 Aug. 2024 The continuous world-building at play emphasizes the sum of Monet’s initial inspirations: desire and relationships. —

Essence, 14 Aug. 2024 Wan, founder and CEO of Atomic Monster, is a world-building pioneer who counts no fewer than four franchises – Aquaman, The Conjuring, Insidious and Saw – along with Mortal Kombat and M3GAN, all of which captured the global zeitgeist of the moment. —

Justin Kroll, Deadline, 12 Aug. 2024 In focusing on eking out a dynamic between divergent cast mates, the live-action Borderlands sacrifices the goofy world-building that made the games iconic. —

Allegra Frank, TIME, 9 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for world-building

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'world-building.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1983, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of world-building was in 1983

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“World-building.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/world-building. Accessed 20 Aug. 2024.

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