reinforce
Americanverb (used with object)
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reinforces,
present (3rd person singular)
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reinforced,
past participle, past
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reinforcing
present participle
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to strengthen with some added piece, support, or material.
to reinforce a wall.
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to strengthen (a military force) with additional personnel, ships, or aircraft.
to reinforce a garrison.
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to strengthen; make more forcible or effective.
to reinforce efforts.
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to augment; increase.
to reinforce a supply.
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Psychology. to strengthen the probability of (a response to a given stimulus) by giving or withholding a reward.
noun
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something that reinforces.
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a metal band on the rear part of the bore of a gun, where the explosion occurs.
verb
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to give added strength or support to
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to give added emphasis to; stress, support, or increase
his rudeness reinforced my determination
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to give added support to (a military force) by providing more men, supplies, etc
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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
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reinforcesimple
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reinforcessimple
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have reinforcedperfect
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has reinforcedperfect
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am reinforcingprogressive
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are reinforcingprogressive
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is reinforcingprogressive
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have been reinforcingperfect progressive
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has been reinforcingperfect progressive
Past
-
reinforcedsimple
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had reinforcedperfect
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was reinforcingprogressive
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were reinforcingprogressive
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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
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 2
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The ACT: The Language of the Test, List 2
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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:
Global homegrown champions reinforce the country’s image as a nation of just nine million people that punches above its weight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The findings reinforce an important lesson from the 2025 trial: simply encouraging people to walk differently is not necessarily enough.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
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
“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
Meanwhile, as Cornwallis had his men build defenses against an attack, he learned that 3,000 French troops had arrived to reinforce Lafayette’s forces.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
For now, the research reinforces the importance of exercise while revealing that its benefits depend on an intricate network of molecular processes inside muscle cells.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Last, it reinforces that he probably does have plans for after the midterms.
From Slate ● Oct. 10, 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
“Each side’s response reinforces the other side’s threat perception,” Lee said, and that loop remains hard to manage.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
This visible evidence of political centralization that the kofun provide reinforces the accounts of Kofun era Japanese emperors written down much later in Japanese and Korean chronicles.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
“This just reinforced the fact that the Fed has more work to do,” Rehling at Wells Fargo said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 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
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
Remarks from Jefferson reinforced those of New York Fed President John Williams, who said Tuesday there was “no need for urgency” after the Fed’s rate increase in September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
I push my way through the reinforced glass doors and go down the steps.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
The government meanwhile welcomed the polling date announcements as an "important stage ... towards reinforcing the country's democratic system".
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
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
"If timing is broken after a stroke, can we improve recovery by reinforcing the biological clock?"
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
In Long Beach, where waves slammed into the seawall and homes, crews have been reinforcing portions of the boardwalk and are distributing sandbags.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
He didn't move into the turreted house on the hill, but took up lodging in the Club House, reinforcing his status as a temporary fixture.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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