cement

American  

[si-ment] / sɪˈmɛnt /

noun

• cements
  plural

1. 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.

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

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

4. anything that binds or unites.

   Time is the cement of friendship.

5. Dentistry.

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

   2. Informal. cementum.

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verb (used with object)

• cements,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cemented,
  past participle,  past
• cementing
  present participle

1. to unite by or as if by cement.

   to cement stones to form a wall; to cement a relationship.

   Synonyms:

   secure, fuse, bind, join, merge

2. to coat or cover with cement.

   to cement a floor.

verb (used without object)

• cements,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cemented,
  past participle,  past
• cementing
  present participle

1. to become cemented; join together or unite; cohere.

cement British  

/ sɪˈmɛnt /

noun

1. 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

2. a binder, glue, or adhesive

3. something that unites or joins; bond

4. dentistry any of various materials used in filling teeth

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

6. another word for cementum

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verb

1. to reinforce or consolidate

   once a friendship is cemented it will last for life

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

3. to coat or cover with cement

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cementer
  noun
• recement
  verb
• cementable
  adjective
• cementless
  adjective
• well-cemented
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cements
  plural

Participles

• cementing
  present
• cemented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cement
  simple
• cements
  simple
• have cemented
  perfect
• has cemented
  perfect
• am cementing
  progressive
• are cementing
  progressive
• is cementing
  progressive
• have been cementing
  perfect progressive
• has been cementing
  perfect progressive

Past

• cemented
  simple
• had cemented
  perfect
• was cementing
  progressive
• were cementing
  progressive
• had been cementing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cement
  simple
• will have cemented
  perfect
• will be cementing
  progressive
• will have been cementing
  perfect progressive

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

Explanation

Cement is a material that's used to build very strong, hard surfaces and structures. Cement is an ingredient in both mortar, which holds bricks together, and concrete, with which dams and roads and buildings are constructed. Cement begins as a powder made of clay and limestone, and after it's mixed with water and, often, sand, it's used to strengthen and bind things — as the mixture dries, it becomes hard and solid. A version of cement has been around since the third century BCE, in Mesopotamia. The word comes from the Latin root cæmenta, "stone chips for making mortar," from caedere, "to cut or chop."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cement cements cemented cementing

The relief at the numbat's revival is tempered by worry this will make it harder to access the funding and support needed to cement those gains.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Victims of terrorist attacks in Syria are seeking compensation from a penalty paid to the U.S. by the cement company Lafarge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Death was “the wrong end of the dirt” and jail “the cement box.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

The fact is, only time can cement a true classic.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

He would say, “Clean water and health care and school and food and tin roofs and cement floors, all of these things should constitute a set of basics that people must have as birthrights.”

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

This comes at a time when Beijing is polishing its image abroad as it cements its role as a global power.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

“His insistence on color saturation is something that really informs his work for ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ and it’s really that movie that cements his reputation as one of the masters of scenic art.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

BNP Paribas analyst Moses Sutton wrote after the deal that it cements “Nextpower as the all-around way for investors to play AI-supported solar + storage growth.”

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

When a high number of people admire a luxury company, even if they can’t afford to own its goods, it cements its value as a status symbol.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

Epic in scope, violence, and imagination, Deathstorm is a new benchmark in the fantasy genre and cements forever G. M. Pennington’s status as the American Tolkien.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

Islam Makhachev cemented his status as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world with a commanding victory over Ian Machado Garry to defend his welterweight title at UFC 330 in Philadelphia.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

But it was his radical reforms as premier from 1998 that cemented his reputation as a no-compromise free marketeer.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Jeff Bezos has cemented his standing as one of the wealthiest individuals in history—with a personal net worth hovering around $200 billion, and buoyed by Amazon’s relentless valuation growth.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

A trend that predated COVID, but the pandemic cemented it.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

It cemented a faith in God and eternity that could have dwindled otherwise.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

Many of Iran’s attacks have been aimed at cementing its sway over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that is critical for global energy flows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

He is cementing his place as the greatest.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

But when Chavez requested the inclusion of LGBTQ+ parents, he was denied — cementing his “no” vote on the resolution.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Most notably, Hunter agreed that he could not appeal the court’s ruling cementing his guilty verdict.

From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026

The trapped worked perfectly, cementing TimeStar’s back to it.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

Related Words

• adhesive
• mud
• plaster
• sand