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reinforced concrete

American

noun

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

reinforced concrete British

noun

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.

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

From Science Daily • Dec. 5, 2025

Last year, Estonia furnished the bridge with dragon's teeth – pyramidal anti-tank obstacles of reinforced concrete.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2025

“If it was a solid, reinforced concrete column ... supporting the bridge, it probably wouldn’t have collapsed in this case,” Dowell added, even without a proper bumper.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2024

Most, but not all, of Japan’s modern buildings are built to stronger, quake-resistant specifications, usually using reinforced concrete that tends to hold up well.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 3, 2024

The coast guard lighthouse on the rocks at Point White was a tower built out of reinforced concrete that rose a hundred feet above the sea.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023