cement

noun

ce·ment | \ si-ˈment

also ˈsē-ment \

Definition of cement

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : concrete

b : a powder of alumina, silica, lime, iron oxide, and magnesium oxide burned together in a kiln and finely pulverized and used as an ingredient of mortar and concrete also : any mixture used for a similar purpose

2 : a binding element or agency: such as

a : a substance to make objects adhere to each other

b : something serving to unite firmly justice is the cement that holds a political community together— R. M. Hutchins

3 : cementum

4 : a plastic composition made especially of zinc or silica for filling dental cavities

5 : the fine-grained groundmass or glass of a porphyry

cement

verb

cemented; cementing; cements

Definition of cement (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to unite or make firm by or as if by cement Pebbles were cemented together by clay. has cemented his role as a leader on the team— T. W. Smith

2 : to overlay with concrete cemented the cellar floor

intransitive verb

: to become cemented

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Synonyms for cement

Synonyms: Noun

Examples of cement in a Sentence

Noun There is a layer of cement under the bricks. what kind of cement works best on glass and pottery? Verb A win would cement her reputation as a strong competitor.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun For example, manufacturing industries such as steel and cement require tremendous amounts of heat to make their products. — Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Why all the hoopla about hydrogen?," 19 Feb. 2021 Sometimes this layer can be quite thin, and an error in the simulated temperature of just one or two degrees can mean the difference between a cement-like coating of sleet and a blanket of fluffy snow. — Washington Post, "Sleet versus snow: The reason behind Thursday’s icy mess," 19 Feb. 2021 And in the bathroom, the white horizontal shower tile is shot through with a line of cement encaustic tile in a floral pattern. — Richard A. Marini, San Antonio Express-News, "100-year-old Sears kit craftsman home in San Antonio's Government Hill combines historic details with $150,000 master suite extension," 11 Feb. 2021 On the boat, cement mixers prepared a special paste that snorkelers ferried down to divers who spent hours underwater carefully fastening pieces back on the reef. — New York Times, "A Race Against Time to Rescue a Reef From Climate Change," 5 Dec. 2020 In the first major protest in the country against stay-at-home orders, thousands of cars, trucks and even a few cement mixers jammed the streets around the Statehouse in Lansing, in what Meshawn Maddock called Operation Gridlock. — David D. Kirkpatrick And Mike Mcintire, Star Tribune, "'Its own private army': How the GOP allied itself with militias," 9 Feb. 2021 Cement floors trapped water while a cement roof on one of the ancient temples pushed down the entire structure. — New York Times, "In Beleaguered Babylon, Doing Battle Against Time, Water and Modern Civilization," 6 Feb. 2021 The Carbon Edition's red leather seats stand out, and the Polymetal Gray Metallic paint does look handsome in a wet-cement kind of way. — Drew Dorian, Car and Driver, "Tested: 2021 Mazda 6 Turbo Remains a Winning Package," 27 Jan. 2021 More than 400 major companies and organizations are joining together to speed up efforts to curb emissions from hard-to-abate sectors including aviation, shipping, and heavy manufacturing such as cement, steel, and chemicals. — Josh Siegel, Washington Examiner, "Daily on Energy, sponsored by EFP: ‘Climate day’ at the White House," 27 Jan. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Contemporary icons like Olympian Florence Griffith-Joyner (Flo Jo) and rappers Lil' Kim and Missy Elliott helped cement acrylic nails and bold nail art into the Black aesthetic landscape. — Kaitlyn Mcnab, Allure, "BlkGirlNailfies Is Re-Centering Black Women in the World of Nail Art," 23 Feb. 2021 Even as redlining helped cement West Hartford as an upscale, white suburb, some real estate developers chose not to take any chances, layering socioeconomic segregation with outright racist discrimination. — Alex Putterman, courant.com, "West Hartford is mostly white, while Bloomfield is largely Black. How that came to be tells the story of racism and segregation in American suburbs," 19 Feb. 2021 In the 1930s and early ’40s, that emotion helped cement the partnership between the rising labor movement and the liberal wing of the party under FDR. — Michael Kazin, The New Republic, "How the Democratic Party Can Create a Majoritarian Coalition," 11 Feb. 2021 The experience helped cement the couple’s support for the then-candidate. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, "After police chief’s attendance at Capitol rally, a New Hampshire town has its own Trump controversy," 14 Jan. 2021 Statehood for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico become possible, with four new Senate seats to cement a Democratic majority. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "What’s at Stake in Georgia," 1 Jan. 2021 Ma, already a living legend, is about to cement that legacy by recording her music with the Paramount Record Company. — Anne Cohen, refinery29.com, "Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Shines A Light On The Fierce Woman Behind The Greasepaint," 19 Dec. 2020 Trump appointed three judges to the Supreme Court during his first term, including Coney Barrett who was confirmed just a week before the election, to cement a conservative majority on the bench. — Hugo Miller, Bloomberg.com, "Trump’s Road to Supreme Court Is Neither Fast Nor Certain," 4 Nov. 2020 President Trump's third Supreme Court nomination, Amy Coney Barrett, is seen as likely to cement a 6-3 conservative majority. — Kerry Picket, Washington Examiner, "Amy Coney Barrett is Trump's third Gen X Supreme Court nomination," 1 Oct. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cement.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

28 Feb 2021

Cite this Entry

“Cement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cement. Accessed 9 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for cement

cement

noun

English Language Learners Definition of cement

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a soft gray powder that is mixed with water and other substances to make concrete

: the hard substance that is made when cement is mixed with water and allowed to dry

: a substance that is used to make things stick together

cement

verb

English Language Learners Definition of cement (Entry 2 of 2)

: to join (things) together with cement

: to make (something) stronger

See the full definition for cement in the English Language Learners Dictionary

cement

noun

ce·ment | \ si-ˈment

Kids Definition of cement

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a powder that is made mainly from compounds of aluminum, calcium, silicon, and iron heated together and then ground and mixed with water to make mortar and concrete

2 : concrete entry 2, mortar

3 : a substance used to make things stick together firmly

cement

verb

cemented; cementing

Kids Definition of cement (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to join together with or as if with cement There were sheets of ice … cementing the tops of the hemlocks in arches.— Jean Craighead George, My Side of the Mountain

2 : to make stronger The experience cemented their friendship.

cement

noun

ce·ment | \ si-ˈment