reinforce
Americanverb (used with object)
-
reinforces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reinforced,
past participle, past
-
reinforcing
present participle
-
to strengthen with some added piece, support, or material.
to reinforce a wall.
-
to strengthen (a military force) with additional personnel, ships, or aircraft.
to reinforce a garrison.
-
to strengthen; make more forcible or effective.
to reinforce efforts.
-
to augment; increase.
to reinforce a supply.
-
Psychology. to strengthen the probability of (a response to a given stimulus) by giving or withholding a reward.
noun
-
something that reinforces.
-
a metal band on the rear part of the bore of a gun, where the explosion occurs.
verb
-
to give added strength or support to
-
to give added emphasis to; stress, support, or increase
his rudeness reinforced my determination
-
to give added support to (a military force) by providing more men, supplies, etc
-
psychol to reward an action or response of (a human or animal) so that it becomes more likely to occur again
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reinforcesimple
-
reinforcessimple
-
have reinforcedperfect
-
has reinforcedperfect
-
am reinforcingprogressive
-
are reinforcingprogressive
-
is reinforcingprogressive
-
have been reinforcingperfect progressive
-
has been reinforcingperfect progressive
Past
-
reinforcedsimple
-
had reinforcedperfect
-
was reinforcingprogressive
-
were reinforcingprogressive
-
had been reinforcingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reinforce
First recorded in 1590–1600; re- + inforce, alteration of enforce
Explanation
To reinforce means to make stronger. You can reinforce your roof by putting some extra supports under it. Besides a physical structure, there are many things you can reinforce. If you want to reinforce a message, you can say it louder, rephrase and repeat it or give examples of what you expect. You use dog biscuits to reinforce certain behaviors in your dog. Bad experiences will reinforce your fears, good ones your hopes. And when military leaders reinforce their troops, they send additional soldiers to the front.
Vocabulary lists containing reinforce
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 2
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Language of Standardized Tests, List 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
According to Africa CDC chief, his organisation was working with all the countries in the region to reinforce response mechanisms.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
The results also reinforce a broader message about digestive health: even relatively light physical activity may have effects on the gut much sooner than previously recognized.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 5, 2026
“From an investment perspective, this may reinforce the company’s competitive positioning as the broadest retail ecosystem in the United States.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
“Today’s data will reinforce the SNB’s message, and market expectations, that the bank will stay on hold in the fourth quarter,” Pantheon Macroeconomics economist Claus Vistesen said in a note to clients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Another zeppelin, meanwhile, had found a clear space farther down the valley, and the crossbow men who disembarked from it were now running up the path to reinforce those already in action.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
Last, it reinforces that he probably does have plans for after the midterms.
From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2026
“It reinforces the idea that we are a meritocracy,” Altman said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
"The exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices and vulnerable supply routes reinforces the need to move faster on renewable energy, storage and electrification," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
“This reinforces our thesis that, despite recent weakness in U.S. time spent, international content and viewership remain important drivers of Netflix’s long-term growth and platform engagement,” the analysts said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
It just reinforces for Pete that welcoming his own workers’ families was the right decision.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
The club's power brokers ignored a clamour to bring in more striking support in the summer and instead reinforced Carrick's midfield.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The broader analysis also reinforced the earlier finding that an unusually large amount of mass is concentrated near the cluster's center.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
A key change was the introduction of reinforced doors to keep intruders out of the cockpit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
If warned of a threat, pilots can now lock the door, which is always reinforced.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Only the reinforced ribbing in her suit prevented Holly’s leg bones from shattering.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits each week has fallen to historic lows, reinforcing that companies are very reluctant to lay off workers with the economy growing steadily.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 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
"If timing is broken after a stroke, can we improve recovery by reinforcing the biological clock?"
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Towards the end of his speech, Xi said the US and China's goals can be "mutually reinforcing".
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Of course, I’d taken the precaution of reinforcing my apartment’s walls, floor, and ceiling, with a titanium alloy SageCage, which I’d assembled piece by piece.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
