Okuzeka
Architecture vocabulary · Drawings and Representation

Dimension

Meaning in architecture, with examples

/daɪˈmenʃn/verbCommon term

In architecture, dimension means: To add measurements to a drawing, showing the lengths, widths and heights of walls, openings and spaces with dimension lines and numbers.

In Turkish: ölçülendirmek, ölçü vermek

How it is used

A daily task in offices. Drawings are dimensioned in millimetres in most countries and in feet and inches in the United States. As a noun, 'dimension' means a measurement, and 'overall dimensions' are the outside sizes of something.

Example sentences

  1. Please dimension all the door openings on the ground floor plan.

  2. The drawing isn't fully dimensioned yet, so don't send it to the contractor.

Common collocations

  • dimension a drawing
  • fully dimensioned
  • dimension line
  • overall dimensions
  • working drawingsThe detailed, fully dimensioned set of drawings that a contractor uses to build a project, including plans, sections, elevations, details and schedules.
  • scaleThe ratio between the size of a drawing or model and the real size of the building; at 1:100, one centimetre on paper equals one metre in reality.
  • floor planA drawing that shows a building from above as if it were cut horizontally about a metre above the floor, showing walls, doors, windows and rooms.
  • CADShort for computer-aided design: software used to produce precise two-dimensional drawings and three-dimensional models instead of drawing by hand.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Drawings and Representation

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: