reinforcement

American  

[ree-in-fawrs-muhnt, -fohrs-] / ˌri ɪnˈfɔrs mənt, -ˈfoʊrs- /

noun

• reinforcements
  plural

1. the act of reinforcing.

2. the state of being reinforced.

3. something that reinforces or strengthens.

4. Often reinforcements. an additional supply of personnel, ships, aircraft, etc., for a military force.

5. a system of steel bars, strands, wires, or mesh for absorbing the tensile and shearing stresses in concrete work.

6. Psychology.

   1. a procedure, as a reward or punishment, that alters a response to a stimulus.

   2. the act of reinforcing a response.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreinforcement
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reinforcements
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of reinforcement

First recorded in 1600–10; reinforce + -ment

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Explanation

Reinforcement is a way to learn and remember things, like a student who repeats the facts he has studied for a test over and over, or the ways we praise children when they share their toys or say "please" and "thank you" — reinforcement of the good manners we want them to use. You’ll often hear the word reinforcement used in relation to a building or other structure that gets additional mechanical support, but the word can be used in a broader sense as well. In addition to strengthening walls, reinforcement can refer to the strengthening or propping up of an argument or a particular point of view. For example, if you show up in class every day and ask questions, that adds reinforcement to the notion that you’re a diligent student.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reinforcement reinforcements

United vice-captain Ella Toone missed out on England selection for the first time under Sarina Wiegman - albeit she was later summoned as a squad reinforcement.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

Furthermore, once the temporary order expires at the end of this year, there’s the issue of reinforcement.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

OpenAI this week proposed new guidelines for documenting and monitoring reinforcement learning training runs for cutting-edge models, including penalizing models that cheat during training to avoid reinforcing that behavior.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

As an adult, a laser focus on her career and the demands of her family life became a way to stay detached from herself—a strategy that received consistent positive reinforcement.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

Although we need reinforcement, the recruits give us almost more trouble than they are worth.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

Although All-Pro safety Derwin James Jr. will miss his fourth consecutive game because of a hamstring injury, the winless Chargers are coming off their bye week with some much-needed reinforcements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

But unlike last time, Bath found a response as their reinforcements from the bench added grunt.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Spurs have brought in £320m worth of talent – a bulk of that in attacking reinforcements – so why are they struggling to score?

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Whether those reinforcements will be back Friday remains to be seen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Their reinforcements settled in, some of the more senior pilots and navigators were promoted, and the three-person flight crews got changed around.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

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