reinforce
to strengthen with some added piece, support, or material: to reinforce a wall.
to strengthen (a military force) with additional personnel, ships, or aircraft: to reinforce a garrison.
to strengthen; make more forcible or effective: to reinforce efforts.
to augment; increase: to reinforce a supply.
Psychology. to strengthen the probability of (a response to a given stimulus) by giving or withholding a reward.
something that reinforces.
a metal band on the rear part of the bore of a gun, where the explosion occurs.
Origin of reinforce
1- Also re·en·force, re-en·force [ree-uhn-fawrs, -fohrs] /ˌri ənˈfɔrs, -ˈfoʊrs/ .
Other words from reinforce
- re·in·forc·er, noun
- self-re·in·forc·ing, adjective
- un·re·in·forced, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for reinforce
/ (ˌriːɪnˈfɔːs) /
to give added strength or support to
to give added emphasis to; stress, support, or increase: his rudeness reinforced my determination
to give added support to (a military force) by providing more men, supplies, etc
psychol to reward an action or response of (a human or animal) so that it becomes more likely to occur again
Origin of reinforce
1Derived forms of reinforce
- reinforcement, noun
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
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