cement

American  

[si-ment] / sɪˈmɛnt /

noun

1. any of various calcined mixtures of clay and limestone, usually mixed with water and sand, gravel, etc., to form concrete, that are used as a building material.

2. any of various soft, sticky substances that dry hard or stonelike, used especially for mending broken objects or for making things adhere.

3. Petrography. the compact groundmass surrounding and binding together the fragments of clastic rocks.

4. anything that binds or unites.

   Time is the cement of friendship.

5. Dentistry.

   1. a hardening, adhesive, plastic substance, used in the repair of teeth for anchoring fillings or inlays, for filling, or for fastening crowns.

   2. Informal. cementum.

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verb (used with object)

1. to unite by or as if by cement.

   to cement stones to form a wall; to cement a relationship.

   Synonyms:

   secure, fuse, bind, join, merge

2. to coat or cover with cement.

   to cement a floor.

verb (used without object)

1. to become cemented; join together or unite; cohere.

cement British  

/ sɪˈmɛnt /

noun

1. a fine grey powder made of a mixture of calcined limestone and clay, used with water and sand to make mortar, or with water, sand, and aggregate, to make concrete

2. a binder, glue, or adhesive

3. something that unites or joins; bond

4. dentistry any of various materials used in filling teeth

5. mineral matter, such as silica and calcite, that binds together particles of rock, bones, etc, to form a solid mass of sedimentary rock

6. another word for cementum

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verb

1. to reinforce or consolidate

   once a friendship is cemented it will last for life

2. to join, bind, or glue together with or as if with cement

3. to coat or cover with cement

Other Word Forms

• cementable adjective
• cementer noun
• cementless adjective
• recement verb
• well-cemented adjective

Etymology

Origin of cement

1250–1300; < Latin cēmentum, variant of caementum (singular of caementa unprocessed cuttings from the quarry, i.e., rough stone and chips) < *caed-mentom, equivalent to caed ( ere ) to cut + -mentum -ment; replacing Middle English cyment < Old French ciment < Latin, as above

Example Sentences

As executives at Tesla and Nvidia position these bots as the next big thing, Chinese companies are moving to cement their place in their supply chains.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

However, he added that he thinks SpaceX “probably” has decided to beat Amazon’s offer to Globalstar to cement its dominance in the satellite industry.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 2, 2026

During Alonso's tenure, Valverde at times struggled to cement a starting spot in his natural role, being deployed in unfamiliar positions such as right-back.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

The workers have carefully recreated this indigenous mortar, once widely used in the Mughal era, but now largely replaced by cement in modern construction.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

Since these materials are not very durable, they are usually cast in a more lasting medium: anything that can be poured, including molten metal, cement, even plastic.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

Related Words

• adhesive
• mud
• plaster
• sand