reinforcement

[ree-in-fawrs-muh nt, -fohrs-]

noun

the act of reinforcing.

the state of being reinforced.

something that reinforces or strengthens.

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

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

Psychology.

a procedure, as a reward or punishment, that alters a response to a stimulus.
the act of reinforcing a response.

Origin of reinforcement

First recorded in 1600–10; reinforce + -ment

Related formsnon·re·in·force·ment, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for reinforcements

aid, buttress, column, pillar, coating, prop, brace, help

Examples from the Web for reinforcements

Contemporary Examples of reinforcements

Finally, a squad of reinforcements arrived and they were able to retreat.
The Brothers Who Ambushed ISIS
Mohammed A. Salih
December 27, 2014
She told him she and her comrades are in dire need of reinforcements and if they had equal numbers they could beat them.
Kobani Still Stands Against ISIS and All Odds. But for How Long?
Jamie Dettmer
October 12, 2014
Nothing but watch, that is, and prevent Kurdish reinforcements from crossing the frontier to help defend Kobani.
Kobani is Falling to ISIS in Syria. Kurd Protests Explode in Turkey.
Jamie Dettmer
October 10, 2014
With reinforcements arriving from its Syrian factions, the group began their assault on the Kurdish Peshmerga.
Iraq’s Religious Minorities are Being Slaughtered and ISIS Just Captured the Last Town Giving Them Shelter
Andrew Slater
August 4, 2014
Despite their appeals no reinforcements were sent to Tikrit.
The Paper Tiger of the Tigris: How ISIS Took Tikrit Without a Fight
Andrew Slater
June 29, 2014

Historical Examples of reinforcements

Moreover, the rivers are always ours and reinforcements will soon pour in to us.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
Howe's reinforcements had reported for duty by the thirty-first of December.
The Bay State Monthly, Vol. 1, Issue 1.
Various
Reinforcements of men and women are needed, but, far above all, reinforcements of prayer.
Things as They Are
Amy Wilson-Carmichael
Meanwhile Agesilaus was rapidly hastening with his reinforcements from Asia.
Hellenica
Xenophon
Whilst these matters were still pending, the second reinforcements from Dionysius arrived.
Hellenica
Xenophon

Word Origin and History for reinforcements

reinforcement

c.1600, "act of reinforcing," from reinforce + -ment. Meaning "an augmentation, that which reinforces" is from 1650s. Related: Reinforcements.

reinforcements in Medicine

reinforcement

[rē′ĭn-fôrs′mənt]

n.

The act or process of reinforcing.

Something that reinforces.

The occurrence or experimental introduction of an unconditioned stimulus along with a conditioned stimulus.

The strengthening of a conditioned response by such means.

An event, a circumstance, or a condition that increases the likelihood that a given response will recur in a situation like that in which the reinforcing condition originally occurred.