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:
Alexandre says abdominal obesity and vitamin D deficiency may reinforce one another in a harmful cycle.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
If it comes to that, Lauer’s done plenty in 11 appearances with the Dodgers to prove he can be an asset to a contending team looking to reinforce its pitching staff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The July employment report, due out Friday, is expected to reinforce the “low-hire, low-fire” nature of the labor market.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
"Improved public services and better learning outcomes in schools will reinforce trust -- but if AI embeds bias in government decisions or erodes data privacy, that trust will be difficult to recover," said the statement.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 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
Furthermore, the discovery reinforces Rio Grande do Sul’s status as one of the world’s most important regions for the study of Triassic fauna.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
She said: "The guga hunt is a centuries-old tradition which reinforces our unique communal identity and helps families keep ancient Gaelic customs alive and relevant in the modern world."
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
This reinforces the conclusion that it’s the approach itself that has lost touch, rather than the particular number of trading days that are incorporated into the moving average.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
That unusually far visibility reinforces the view that semiconductor demand is likely to exceed supply for an extended period, analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Especially if every glance in a mirror reinforces it.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Generosity and shrewdness, in these cases, reinforced each other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
That mindset, Goel argues, is reinforced by public pressure.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Creating the Care-Based Services Division reinforced our belief that public safety is strongest when care-based services and enforcement work together.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
If dealers were taking the other side of that call buying, their hedging activity may have reinforced the index’s advance.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
The realm of great literature was still far removed from who I was and reinforced the idea that I was at a crossroads in my life, with only the lesser path available to me.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
"This is a clear example of how climate change is intensifying heat extremes, with heat and drought increasingly reinforcing one another," said Samantha Burgess from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which operates Copernicus.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Along the coast £1m is being spent on reinforcing the sea wall at Overstrand in the hope of giving the village's properties another 30 to 40 years.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
She urged the EU to "double down" in five areas: preventing irregular migration in the first place via cooperation with partner states; strengthening external borders; implementing early warning systems; dismantling smuggling networks and reinforcing returns.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Taco Bell said its efforts were reinforcing consumer confidence in its food safety, and that it appreciated fans who have continued coming in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Since an earthquake killed thousands in the city of Kobe in 1995, the nation had spent sixteen years reinforcing bridges, reconstructing old buildings with earthquake-resistant technology, and creating earthquake warning systems.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
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.
