reinforce
Americanverb (used with object)
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reinforces,
present (3rd person singular)
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reinforced,
past participle, past
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reinforcing
present participle
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to strengthen with some added piece, support, or material.
to reinforce a wall.
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to strengthen (a military force) with additional personnel, ships, or aircraft.
to reinforce a garrison.
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to strengthen; make more forcible or effective.
to reinforce efforts.
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to augment; increase.
to reinforce a supply.
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Psychology. to strengthen the probability of (a response to a given stimulus) by giving or withholding a reward.
noun
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something that reinforces.
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a metal band on the rear part of the bore of a gun, where the explosion occurs.
verb
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to give added strength or support to
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to give added emphasis to; stress, support, or increase
his rudeness reinforced my determination
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to give added support to (a military force) by providing more men, supplies, etc
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psychol to reward an action or response of (a human or animal) so that it becomes more likely to occur again
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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reinforcesimple
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reinforcessimple
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have reinforcedperfect
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has reinforcedperfect
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am reinforcingprogressive
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are reinforcingprogressive
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is reinforcingprogressive
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have been reinforcingperfect progressive
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has been reinforcingperfect progressive
Past
-
reinforcedsimple
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had reinforcedperfect
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was reinforcingprogressive
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were reinforcingprogressive
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had been reinforcingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reinforce
First recorded in 1590–1600; re- + inforce, alteration of enforce
Explanation
To reinforce means to make stronger. You can reinforce your roof by putting some extra supports under it. Besides a physical structure, there are many things you can reinforce. If you want to reinforce a message, you can say it louder, rephrase and repeat it or give examples of what you expect. You use dog biscuits to reinforce certain behaviors in your dog. Bad experiences will reinforce your fears, good ones your hopes. And when military leaders reinforce their troops, they send additional soldiers to the front.
Vocabulary lists containing reinforce
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 2
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 2
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The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
Vietnam said the agreement showed the parties' resolve to "reinforce the rules-based trading system amid continued volatility in the global economy", according to a government statement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026
Brazil's finance ministry has said it is monitoring the effectiveness of the ban on Polymarket and may take further measures to reinforce it.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Global homegrown champions reinforce the country’s image as a nation of just nine million people that punches above its weight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Rice delivered vehicles, men and equipment to reinforce the effort.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
It did reinforce for him his initial impression of Odessa, when all he could see as he drove into town the first time was the red cast of the clouds from a winter storm.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Instead, she said that the "first key consideration was energy security", as the Middle East crisis reinforces the importance of "home-grown energy".
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
This reinforces the fundamental truth that the market is incredibly difficult to beat consistently, and therefore that our default investment strategy should be to buy and hold index funds.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
For now, the research reinforces the importance of exercise while revealing that its benefits depend on an intricate network of molecular processes inside muscle cells.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Last, it reinforces that he probably does have plans for after the midterms.
From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2026
She reinforces her force field with intent and bares her teeth.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
“That did not help remove that mistrust. It reinforced that mistrust.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
This was reinforced with a phonics screening check for six-year-olds.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Other research has reinforced the idea that exercise remains valuable even when physical performance inevitably declines with age.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2026
“This just reinforced the fact that the Fed has more work to do,” Rehling at Wells Fargo said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
The rarity of Seabiscuit’s public appearances fueled rumors that the horse was unsound, rumors that were reinforced by the horse’s choppy gait.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
It’s reinforcing the boardwalk with lumber and using the aforementioned 3,000-pound sandbags to “deflect wave energy on the beach side of the bulkhead, the seawall,” Martin said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Jennifer Taylor, National Union of Students Cymru president, said the comments were "dangerous, harmful and are reinforcing a toxic culture on our campuses that must be tackled head on".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
At an investor event, Porsche outlined its medium-term strategy framework, centered on reinforcing its sports-car brand DNA while improving price and mix discipline, lowering capital intensity, and supporting structurally higher profitability and cash generation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Work is similarly under way to improve Europe's early warning system with plans under discussion including reinforcing the mandate of the bloc's border agency Frontex to conduct social media monitoring.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
The upper story was plaster and timber with stone reinforcing the comers.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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