concrete
pronunciation
How to pronounce concrete in British English:
UK [ˈkɒŋkriːt]
How to pronounce concrete in American English:
US [ˈkɑːŋkriːt]
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- Noun:
- a strong hard building material composed of sand and gravel and cement and water
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- Verb:
- cover with cement
- form into a solid mass; coalesce
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- Adjective:
- capable of being perceived by the senses; not abstract or imaginary
- formed by the coalescence of particles
Word Origin
- concrete
- concrete: [14] In origin, something concrete is something that has ‘grown together’. The word comes, via Old French concret, from Latin concrētus, the past participle of concrēscere ‘grow together’, hence ‘harden’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix com- ‘together’ and crēscere ‘grow’ (source also of English crescent, increase, and accrue). Its original application in English was fairly general – referring to that which is solid or material; its use for the building material did not emerge until the early 19th century.=> accrue, crescent, decrease, increase
- concrete (adj.)
- late 14c., "actual, solid," from Latin concretus "condensed, hardened, thick, hard, stiff, curdled, congealed, clotted," figuratively "thick; dim," literally "grown together;" past participle of concrescere "to grow together," from com- "together" (see com-) + crescere "to grow" (see crescent). A logicians' term until meaning began to expand 1600s. Noun sense of "building material made from cement, etc." is first recorded 1834.
Antonym
Example
- 1. It treats the concrete content of ends and values .
- 2. Most houses are made of glass and concrete here .
- 3. Sarkozy yesterday told a french parliamentary group on the financial crisis that he wanted " concrete " measures .
- 4. So again , nothing concrete , just promises to talk again in the future .
- 5. The new material could potentially increase the service life of the concrete - with considerable cost savings as a result .