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reinforced concrete

American  

noun

  1. concrete containing steel bars, strands, mesh, etc., to absorb tensile and shearing stresses.


reinforced concrete British  

noun

  1. concrete with steel bars, mesh, etc, embedded in it to enable it to withstand tensile and shear stresses

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of reinforced concrete

First recorded in 1900–05

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:

Across volatile regions, some critical infrastructure, like desalination plants and data centers, will need to be fortified with layers of reinforced concrete, duplicated to provide backups or potentially relocated underground—at significant cost.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 4, 2026

Some visually appealing examples are known as shells, and these have traditionally been made from reinforced concrete.

From Science Daily Dec. 5, 2025

Dr Thomas largely agrees, but explained that most new buildings in Jamaica were made of reinforced concrete, as required by national building codes.

From BBC Oct. 28, 2025

Fortunately, he said, the bridge itself is a reinforced concrete structure that has “stood the test of time for the past 88 years” and implied it’s likely to remain standing.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 12, 2024

The Germans had constructed reinforced concrete pillboxes that housed machine guns, antiaircraft weapons, and light artillery all along the English Channel over to the Atlantic Ocean.

From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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