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

adhesive, bond, glue, size

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

Lidia looks down at the cold cement floor, not knowing how to answer her husband. — Lauren Bohn, Marie Claire, "Who Killed Claudia Gomez?," 2 May 2019 Naadam’s Prince Street store may just be the ultimate expression of this new KonMari consumerism: The entire shop carries a single item, a $75 unisex cashmere crew neck sweater in a variety of colors, from camel to cement. — Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, "Who Needs Gender? Why Men and Women Are Dressing Identically," 21 Feb. 2019 Now widely considered a masterpiece of erotic fiction, the novel did much to cement Salter’s literary reputation, if not his mass appeal, in the years leading up to his death in 2015. — New York Times, "James Salter’s ‘Blue, Indolent’ Corner of Burgundy," 5 June 2018 During the recent installation of his invention, Babcock leaned from the basket of an orange hydraulic lift and poured a bucket of cement into the cylinder of a 13-foot-tall device named Mechanical Babe. — Vincent T. Davis, San Antonio Express-News, "Elephants at Zoo receive enrichment project from UTSA Honors College students," 10 Apr. 2018 Large-scale cement tiles on the floor balance the coffered wood ceiling— and make floor clean-up a breeze. — Joanna Linberg, Sunset, "Stunning DIY Renovation Brightens a Spanish Colonial Revival Home," 22 Jan. 2018 Using the copper's orange tones as a counterpoint, Kletzien opted for blue throughout the space, arranging the large-scale cement tiles in an irregular pattern on the wall. — Hadley Keller, House Beautiful, "Creative Tile Turns a Scary '90s Bathroom Into a Fresh, Fun Space," 27 Feb. 2019 Some materials, such as cement, dark rocks or even sand, can get very hot when left in the sun for a while. — Science Buddies, Scientific American, "Warm in the Sun," 12 July 2018 There were others, though, who stood on baking cement in punishing heat for a chance to see the Stanley Cup. — Angela Fritz, Washington Post, "Fabulous reader photos of a hot summer weekend in Washington," 2 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

In my mind, that’s the day that cemented the fact that Dwight [the greatest player in Magic history] would leave and Van Gundy [the greatest coach in Magic history] would be fired. — Mike Bianchi, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Worst day of Dwight Howard's life was also one of worst days in Orlando Magic history," 18 June 2018 His name was rarely on the scientific papers announcing the results or on the patents that cemented their commercial utility. — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, "We Are Scientists," 5 June 2018 View 53 Photos Those who want to cement their status as early adopters should seek out the special G63 Edition 1, which only is available for the G63’s first model year. — Greg Fink, Car and Driver, "2019 Mercedes-AMG G63: A New G Means New AMGs," 14 Feb. 2018 Myanmar has promised returning Rohingya a form of identity that falls short of citizenship, which Rohingya reject and say would cement their second-class status. — Jon Emont, WSJ, "Rohingya, Expelled From Myanmar, Refuse Effort to Return Them," 15 Nov. 2018 Electric scooter start-up Bird has closed a $300-million round of funding, cementing the 10-month-old Venice company’s status as one of the fastest-growing technology firms in the country. — David Pierson, latimes.com, "With $300 million in new funding, Bird cements status as one of nation's fastest-growing start-ups," 28 June 2018 The new soft tissue discoveries could help cement or disprove this theory. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "A 150-Year Old Weird Ancient Animal Mystery, Solved," 22 Feb. 2019 The results help cement the Obama-era health law as a part of the national landscape. — Stephanie Armour, WSJ, "Election Shifts Health-Care Landscape Across the U.S.," 8 Nov. 2018 Google's strategy has also prevented rival search engines from collecting more data from smart mobile devices, including search and mobile location data, which helped Google to cement its dominance as a search engine. — Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "EU: Google illegally used Android to dominate search, must pay $5B fine," 18 July 2018

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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Dictionary Entries near cement

Statistics for cement

Last Updated

19 May 2019

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Time Traveler for cement

The first known use of cement was in the 14th century

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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.