concrete: Meaning and Definition of

con•crete

Pronunciation: (kon'krēt, kong'-, kon-krēt', kong- for 1–10, 11, 14, 15 kon-krēt', kong- for 12, 13), [key]
— adj., n., v., -cret•ed, -cret•ing.
—adj.
  1. constituting an actual thing or instance; real: a concrete proof of his sincerity.
  2. pertaining to or concerned with realities or actual instances rather than abstractions; particular (opposed to general): concrete ideas.
  3. representing or applied to an actual substance or thing, as opposed to an abstract quality: The words “cat,” “water,” and “teacher” are concrete, whereas the words “truth,” “excellence,” and “adulthood” are abstract.
  4. made of concrete: a concrete pavement.
  5. formed by coalescence of separate particles into a mass; united in a coagulated, condensed, or solid mass or state.
—n.
  1. an artificial, stonelike material used for various structural purposes, made by mixing cement and various aggregates, as sand, pebbles, gravel, or shale, with water and allowing the mixture to harden. Cf. reinforced concrete.
  2. any of various other artificial building or paving materials, as those containing tar.
  3. a concrete idea or term; a word or notion having an actual or existent thing or instance as its referent.
  4. a mass formed by coalescence or concretion of particles of matter.
  5. to put (something) in final form; finalize so as to prevent change or reversal: The basic agreement sets in concrete certain policies.
—v.t.
  1. to treat or lay with concrete: to concrete a sidewalk.
  2. to form into a mass by coalescence of particles; render solid.
  3. to make real, tangible, or particular.
—v.i.
  1. to coalesce into a mass; become solid; harden.
  2. to use or apply concrete.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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