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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

Like others, Merav Manay and her family headed into their safe room - a secure part of their apartment built of reinforced concrete with a heavy metal door and designed to protect against rocket attacks.

From BBC Jun. 24, 2025

At the time of its construction, it was called the first fire-proof structure in Altadena because it was built of reinforced concrete.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 11, 2025

It was at that time that they built a fortress of reinforced concrete over the faded tomb of José Arcadio, so that the corpse's smell of powder would not contaminate the waters.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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