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
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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:
Tucakovic called in firefighting teams from other parts of the country to reinforce crews already at the scene, while four Canadair water-bombing aircraft were on standby to assist operations.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
These worrying landmarks reinforce a market perception that fixed-income investments are losing bets, a sentiment Hartnett summarizes as “Anything But Bonds.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
If it comes to that, Lauer’s done plenty in 11 appearances with the Dodgers to prove he can be an asset to a contending team looking to reinforce its pitching staff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
For electrons moving in one direction, the ripples align and reinforce each other.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
A vest to reinforce the protection over my vital organs.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
The Wolfspeed-Liteon partnership also reinforces AI-driven silicon carbide adoption, benefiting Malaysian power-management players such as Malaysian Pacific Industries, he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
It also reinforces the importance of South America for the study of the origin and diversification of major groups of terrestrial vertebrates.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
She said: "The guga hunt is a centuries-old tradition which reinforces our unique communal identity and helps families keep ancient Gaelic customs alive and relevant in the modern world."
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
“It reinforces the narrative of the Palisades, her being out of town,” said Fernando Guerra, a professor of political science and Chicana/o Latina/o studies at Loyola Marymount University.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
It just reinforces for Pete that welcoming his own workers’ families was the right decision.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Coming on the heels of softer inflation data and a cooling labor market, the figures reinforced bets that the central bank will stand pat on rates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
In Kinshasa, preparations for a possible Bundibugyo response are intensifying, with surveillance and rapid-response capacity being reinforced at Maluku, the city's main entry point.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Creating the Care-Based Services Division reinforced our belief that public safety is strongest when care-based services and enforcement work together.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
But Lilly’s success over Novo in the broader GLP-1 market was reinforced this week by the companies’ latest quarterly results, which sent the stocks of the drugmakers in opposite directions.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
After that, Nhamo reinforced the thorn-bush barrier around her trees and added a coat of birdlime to the bark.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
She urged the EU to "double down" in five areas: preventing irregular migration in the first place via cooperation with partner states; strengthening external borders; implementing early warning systems; dismantling smuggling networks and reinforcing returns.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Portuguese PM Luis Montenegro said he was considering reinforcing border checks.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Military helicopters were reinforcing efforts on the ground to find the climbers and boost the operation in the challenging high-altitude environment, according to the club.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
June’s inflation print came in lower than expected, reinforcing this patient approach.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
When starting, she recommends accepting and reinforcing behaviors that come close to the desired behavior.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
