reinforcement

American  

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

noun

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

• nonreinforcement noun

Etymology

Origin of reinforcement

First recorded in 1600–10; reinforce + -ment

Example Sentences

Sarah paid $15,000 to rip out the chain-link fence separating the Healing Arts center and Quirky, which had been cut into repeatedly, and replace it with 80 feet of reinforcement.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

Surrounding rock that lacked this reinforcement gradually eroded away, leaving behind the web-like network visible today.

From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2026

They geeked out about continual learning, where AI gets smarter as it absorbs new information, and reinforcement learning, or “RL,” a technique in which the models learn through trial and error.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 20, 2025

"They were rescued only after additional military reinforcement came."

From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025

Norte Chico chiefdoms were almost certainly theocratic, though not brutally so; leaders induced followers to obey by a combination of ideology, charisma, and skillfully timed positive reinforcement.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• aid