BUILT-IN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does built-in mean? 

• BUILT-IN (adjective)
  The adjective BUILT-IN has 1 sense:

1. existing as an essential constituent or characteristic

  Familiarity information: BUILT-IN used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BUILT-IN (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Existing as an essential constituent or characteristic

Synonyms:

built-in; constitutional; inbuilt; inherent; integral

Context example:

a constitutional inability to tell the truth

Similar:

intrinsic; intrinsical (belonging to a thing by its very nature)

 Context examples 

Samples were magnified by the built-in lens of the cell phone camera along with an external lens.

(Smartphone microscope detects nanoparticles and viruses, NIH)

Only a few days old, the young honeyguide uses these built-in weapons to kill its foster siblings as soon as they hatch, says Spottiswoode.

(How humans and wild Honeyguide birds call each other to help, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This astronomical answer has a built-in clock (computing planetary orbits backward in time), providing an accurate chronology for the geologic record.

(Deep-sea sediments lead to new understanding of solar system, National Science Foundation)