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cement

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A powdered substance produced by firing calcium carbonate and clay that develops strong cohesive properties when mixed with water.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

suhmehnt

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

səˈmɛnt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. countableuncountable

    A powdered substance produced by firing (calcining) calcium carbonate (limestone) and clay that develops strong cohesive properties when mixed with water. The main ingredient of concrete.

  2. uncountable

    The paste-like substance resulting from mixing such a powder with water, or the rock-like substance that forms when it dries.

  3. uncountable

    Any material with strong adhesive and cohesive properties such as binding agents, glues, grout.

  4. figurative

    A bond of union; that which unites firmly, as persons in friendship or in society.

  5. Something that hardens to act as adhesive material

verb

  1. transitivefigurative

    To unite firmly or closely.

  2. figuratively

    To make permanent.

  3. Bind or join with or as if with cement

  4. Make fast as if with cement

  5. transitive

    To affix with cement.

  6. Cover or coat with cement

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
General and technical use

More ways to use cement

  • “They stood on the grey cement beside the pool.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Powdered / paste

cement mortarcement paste

Other combinations

rubber cementasbestos cementbone cementcement ratiocement industrycement floor

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • cement mixernounCompound term

    A machine with a large revolving drum in which cement is mixed with other materials to make concrete.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: powdered substance produced by firing (calcining) calcium carbonate (limestone) and clay that develops strong cohesive properties when mixed with water. The main ingredient of concrete

cementumTechnical

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.