cement

[si-ment]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cement ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

any of various soft, sticky substances that dry hard or stonelike, used especially for mending broken objects or for making things adhere.

Petrography. the compact groundmass surrounding and binding together the fragments of clastic rocks.

anything that binds or unites: Time is the cement of friendship.

Dentistry.

a hardening, adhesive, plastic substance, used in the repair of teeth for anchoring fillings or inlays, for filling, or for fastening crowns.
Informal.cementum.

verb (used with object)

to unite by or as if by cement: to cement stones to form a wall; to cement a relationship.

to coat or cover with cement: to cement a floor.

verb (used without object)

to become cemented; join together or unite; cohere.

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

Related formsce·ment·a·ble, adjectivece·ment·er, nounce·ment·less, adjectivere·ce·ment, verbwell-ce·ment·ed, adjective

Can be confusedcement concrete mortar²

Synonyms for cement

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cement ON THESAURUS.COM

6. merge, join, bind, fuse, secure.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cement

adhesive, plaster, mud, sand, seal, size, gum, concrete, binder, bond, solder, glue, paste, mucilage, gunk, tar, birdlime, sealant, mortar, lime

Examples from the Web for cement

Contemporary Examples of cement

He was pinned to the cement for his refusal to go along with an arrest for selling loose cigarettes.
The Wildly Peaceful, Human, Almost Boring, Ultimately Great New York City Protests for Eric Garner
Mike Barnicle
December 8, 2014
Holding the architectural smorgasbord of a castle together was cement, wire, and mortar.
The Postman Who Built a Palace in France…by Hand
Nina Strochlic
November 20, 2014
And to check out this 100-year-old steel and cement engineering marvel.
A Man, a Plan, a Canal: Panama Turns 100
Bill Schulz
August 17, 2014
Death waits for these things as a cement floor waits for a dropping light bulb.
American Dreams: Saul Bellow’s Masterpiece of Lamentation
Nathaniel Rich
July 27, 2014
And what Navfac calls “standard airfield concrete” is military-grade, made with aggregate and Portland cement.
Why Can’t America’s Newest Stealth Jet Land Like It’s Supposed To?
Bill Sweetman
May 26, 2014

Historical Examples of cement

As the boy ran off, K.'s eye fell on what he had written on the cement.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Then there was a clattering on the cement floor as of a million arrows.
Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, Mycenae
Jennie Hall
The streets of the towns were narrow, but were often paved with a sort of cement.
Introductory American History
Henry Eldridge Bourne
Broken china may be repaired with cement, made of equal parts of glue, the white of an egg, and white-lead mixed together.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
The plaster or cement coating is intact, and the inscription is plain.
Christopher Columbus and His Monument Columbia
Various

British Dictionary definitions for cement

cement

noun

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

a binder, glue, or adhesive

something that unites or joins; bond

dentistry any of various materials used in filling teeth

mineral matter, such as silica and calcite, that binds together particles of rock, bones, etc, to form a solid mass of sedimentary rock

another word for cementum

verb (tr)

to reinforce or consolidateonce a friendship is cemented it will last for life

to join, bind, or glue together with or as if with cement

to coat or cover with cement

Derived Formscementer, noun

Word Origin for cement

C13: from Old French ciment, from Latin caementum stone from the quarry, from caedere to hew

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cement

c.1300, from Old French ciment "cement, mortar, pitch," from Latin cæmenta "stone chips used for making mortar" (singular caementum), from caedere "to cut down, chop, beat, hew, fell, slay" (see -cide). The sense evolution from "small broken stones" to "powdered stones used in construction" took place before the word reached English.

c.1400, from cement (n.) or Old French cimenter. Figurative use from c.1600. Related: Cemented; cementing.

cement in Medicine

cement

[sĭ-mĕnt′]

n.

A substance used for filling dental cavities or anchoring crowns, inlays, or other restorations.

cementum

A substance that hardens to act as an adhesive; glue.