This article explores the reasons for the contemporary visibility of the concept of “construction” in the field of the social studies of science, and more broadly, in sociological theory insofar as it is concerned with the study of science. In an attempt to move beyond a description of the numerous existing varieties of constructivism, this piece treats “construction” as a metaphor. Identifying the mechanisms of the construction metaphor makes it possible not only to characterize the “semantic transport” inherent in the constructivist lexicon, but also to reinforce a critical point of view of the implicit dimensions of a representation which, although initially elaborated within the framework of science studies, now aspires to extend to the totality of social phenomenon, principally via the actor-network theory.