reinforcement

American  

[ree-in-fawrs-muhnt, -fohrs-] / ˌri ɪnˈfɔrs mənt, -ˈfoʊrs- /

noun

• reinforcements
  plural

1. the act of reinforcing.

2. the state of being reinforced.

3. something that reinforces or strengthens.

4. Often reinforcements. an additional supply of personnel, ships, aircraft, etc., for a military force.

5. a system of steel bars, strands, wires, or mesh for absorbing the tensile and shearing stresses in concrete work.

6. Psychology.

   1. a procedure, as a reward or punishment, that alters a response to a stimulus.

   2. the act of reinforcing a response.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonreinforcement
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reinforcements
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of reinforcement

First recorded in 1600–10; reinforce + -ment

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Explanation

Reinforcement is a way to learn and remember things, like a student who repeats the facts he has studied for a test over and over, or the ways we praise children when they share their toys or say "please" and "thank you" — reinforcement of the good manners we want them to use. You’ll often hear the word reinforcement used in relation to a building or other structure that gets additional mechanical support, but the word can be used in a broader sense as well. In addition to strengthening walls, reinforcement can refer to the strengthening or propping up of an argument or a particular point of view. For example, if you show up in class every day and ask questions, that adds reinforcement to the notion that you’re a diligent student.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

reinforcement reinforcements

Furthermore, once the temporary order expires at the end of this year, there’s the issue of reinforcement.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

As an adult, a laser focus on her career and the demands of her family life became a way to stay detached from herself—a strategy that received consistent positive reinforcement.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

They echoed Dresser’s recommendation: treats also help with positive reinforcement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

The company recently hired Barret Zoph, a former Thinking Machines Lab co-founder and OpenAI posttraining lead, to be a vice president of research focused on reinforcement learning and posttraining.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

The next thing I know, I’m sitting on a chair at the front of the room with my mouth open and a white paper reinforcement perched like a bull’s-eye on the tip of my tongue.

From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead

The Chargers, though, could use all the reinforcements they can get.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Spurs have brought in £320m worth of talent – a bulk of that in attacking reinforcements – so why are they struggling to score?

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Four years later, he commanded the forces that kept Gen. Cornwallis pinned down at Yorktown until reinforcements arrived.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

Whether those reinforcements will be back Friday remains to be seen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

By strengthening his forces at the places where he knew that Howe was about to attack, the master of deception made it look as though reinforcements had arrived.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

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