in cement

Idioms  

1. Firmly settled or determined; unalterable. For example, Their policy on taxes was set in cement despite opposition. For a synonym, see cast in stone.

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Example Sentences

Ethiopia’s government promoted manufacturing with some successes in cement and floriculture, but its leading state enterprise asked North Korea for help to build 10 sugar mills as part of a vast sugar-development project.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

“You’d have to have this insane network of pipes,” Harvey said of cutting down emissions in cement production.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 6, 2025

While prints of her hands and feet were plastered in cement, Foster was celebrating her 10th anniversary with her wife, Alexandra Hedison.

From Salon • Apr. 21, 2024

“Areas that need to be recharging the water table are smothered in cement and concrete.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2024

He was purple all over, and now that the paint was beginning to dry and harden, he was forced to sit very stiff and upright, as though he were encased in cement.

From "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl