solidify
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to become solid.
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to form into crystals; become crystallized.
verb
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to make or become solid or hard
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to make or become strong, united, determined, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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solidifiabilitynoun
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solidifiablenessnoun
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solidificationnoun
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solidifiernoun
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resolidifyverb
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oversolidifyverb (used with object)
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nonsolidifiedadjective
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nonsolidifyingadjective
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solidifiableadjective
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unsolidifiedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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solidifysimple
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solidifiessimple
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have solidifiedperfect
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has solidifiedperfect
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am solidifyingprogressive
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are solidifyingprogressive
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is solidifyingprogressive
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have been solidifyingperfect progressive
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has been solidifyingperfect progressive
Past
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solidifiedsimple
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had solidifiedperfect
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was solidifyingprogressive
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were solidifyingprogressive
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had been solidifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of solidify
From the French word solidifier, dating back to 1790–1800. See solid, -ify
Explanation
To solidify is to make something solid, like water becoming ice, or a plan becoming more concrete. If you’re meeting a friend, you should solidify the plan before you go and decide where and what time to meet. To solidify is to become a solid, like lemonade solidifying into a popsicle, or dissolved sugar solidifying into yummy rock candy. Also, this word can apply to non-physical things. If a couple gets engaged, they're solidifying their relationship. Getting a promotion could solidify your career. Anything becoming firmer or more real is a type of solidifying. In any sense, whatever gets solidified becomes stronger.
Vocabulary lists containing solidify
Red Flags and Butterflies
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"Understanding Axons, Dendrites and Synapse" and "What’s Going On in Your Brain?"
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Crashing into You
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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:
A disappointing preliminary earnings report from International Business Machines on Tuesday seemed to solidify that trend.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
But a lot has to go right for this plastic moment to solidify into something better.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
It also raises the possibility that Comcast could potentially acquire Charter Communications to solidify itself as the top provider in the U.S.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
A deal would help Italian lender Intesa solidify an already strong position in its domestic market while bolstering its wealth-management, corporate and investment banking and consumer-finance businesses, RBC says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
To drum up excitement, Fitzpatrick and Foster tapped talented men to lead—one to solidify support among Johnny Joyce's cattle butchers, another to organize blacks.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Dariely Rodriguez, chief counsel at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said that the ruling "solidifies what we have known to be true for over a hundred years".
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
OpenAI officially announcing plans to go public solidifies that this is shaking up to be a year marked by the largest IPOs in Wall Street’s history.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
As MMA solidifies, “it produces heat, and then in producing that heat, it furthers the chain reaction, so it keeps going and going and going,” Bernal said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
But until the forecast solidifies, “natural gas will search for support-and continued notable losses are possible.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
I knew it wasn’t—I knew it wasn’t—but this second call solidifies that.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
And the friends solidified their bond—they went into business together.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
As a manager, he returned to Newcastle in 1992 and solidified his position as a Tyneside legend when he led the Toon to second place in 1995-96.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Large groups of these intrusions, called dike swarms, can preserve a record of intense volcanic activity long after the magma has solidified.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
But Alan solidified his dream of a bigger life after accompanying Herbert on a business trip to Chicago in the late 1930s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
In front of the Doors of Death, the air darkened and solidified.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
AI giant is solidifying its Claude Partner Network to help demonstrate ‘durability of revenue’ as it nears going public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Shares of Micron rose 19% on Tuesday, solidifying the country’s largest homegrown chip maker as the latest flag-bearer of the semiconductor rally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
Her subsequent appearances in “The Haunting of Bly Manor” and “You” were characterized by a similar dramatic intensity, solidifying her renown in the horror genre.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
"One Battle After Another" director Paul Thomas Anderson won top honors at the Directors Guild of America Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, solidifying his film's position as a strong favorite for the Oscars.
From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026
Who would have dreamed, though, that the easily willed minutiae of their daily actions could amass so — solidifying, mountainous, beyond their control?
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
