cement
Americannoun
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any of various calcined mixtures of clay and limestone, usually mixed with water and sand, gravel, etc., to form concrete, that are used as a building material.
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any of various soft, sticky substances that dry hard or stonelike, used especially for mending broken objects or for making things adhere.
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Petrography. the compact groundmass surrounding and binding together the fragments of clastic rocks.
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anything that binds or unites.
Time is the cement of friendship.
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Dentistry.
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a hardening, adhesive, plastic substance, used in the repair of teeth for anchoring fillings or inlays, for filling, or for fastening crowns.
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Informal. cementum.
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verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
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a fine grey powder made of a mixture of calcined limestone and clay, used with water and sand to make mortar, or with water, sand, and aggregate, to make concrete
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a binder, glue, or adhesive
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something that unites or joins; bond
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dentistry any of various materials used in filling teeth
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mineral matter, such as silica and calcite, that binds together particles of rock, bones, etc, to form a solid mass of sedimentary rock
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another word for cementum
verb
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to reinforce or consolidate
once a friendship is cemented it will last for life
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to join, bind, or glue together with or as if with cement
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to coat or cover with cement
Other Word Forms
- cementable adjective
- cementer noun
- cementless adjective
- recement verb
- well-cemented adjective
Etymology
Origin of cement
1250–1300; < Latin cēmentum, variant of caementum (singular of caementa unprocessed cuttings from the quarry, i.e., rough stone and chips) < *caed-mentom, equivalent to caed ( ere ) to cut + -mentum -ment; replacing Middle English cyment < Old French ciment < Latin, as above
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Waters said his two children won free ice cream and popcorn, cementing his family’s loyalty to the hometown chain.
Many of the group’s leadership came of age as soldiers fighting in the brutal war against Iraq in the 1980s, an era that cemented its central role in supporting the regime.
The PGA honor, presented at a ceremony in Beverly Hills, cements Anderson’s celebrated film as the front-runner for the best picture Oscar.
From Los Angeles Times
With fifth-placed Chelsea due to play Arsenal and Aston Villa in their next two games, this is looking like a chance for United to cement their position in the Champions League places.
From BBC
“From the Swiss steel framework and sleek fixtures to the fiber cement exterior panels that can go more than 50 years without maintenance, everything was designed to last.”
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
