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.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreinforcement
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reinforcements
  plural

Etymology

Origin of reinforcement

First recorded in 1600–10; reinforce + -ment

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

The Singapore steel reinforcement solutions provider’s nine-month earnings also signal its resilient business and market leadership, as it continues to benefit from the rising construction cycle in Singapore, he adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

“DeepMind from its very early days was focused on a very particular type of artificial intelligence, reinforcement learning,” Benjamin Lee, an engineering professor at the University of Pennsylvania, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

This selective reinforcement produces a current that is concentrated into a particular direction rather than spreading evenly through the material.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

Most of the birds have come from other zoos and private collections in the UK and Europe and have been highly trained through positive reinforcement to fly in shows.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

One pilot who joined the 587th as a reinforcement, Antonina Bondareva, worked on a piece of knitting in between flights.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

The Magpies had already signed attacking reinforcements, bringing in Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart for a club-record fee of £69m and Yoane Wissa from Brentford for £55m.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

If something needs solving, then it is a problem and Liverpool require reinforcements at the back.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

"We got reinforcements from the armed forces and the Special Task Force commandos to restore order and send the inmates back to their cells," Medawatte told reporters outside the prison.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

Experts familiar with Morocco's security apparatus expressed puzzlement at the absence of reinforcements from the police or the powerful military, even as migrants began pouring into Fnideq at the start of the week.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 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

Related Words

• aid