concrete

A building material made by mixing cement, sand, small stones, and water, which becomes very hard.

• The floor is made of concrete.
• Workers poured concrete into the wooden frame.
• These concrete walls keep the room cool.

Common phrases: reinforced concrete, concrete floor, pour concrete, concrete bridge

Strong and reliable enough to support a claim or show that something is true.

• We need concrete proof.
• The police found no concrete evidence against her.
• Do you have anything concrete to support that claim?

Similar words: solid, firm, reliable

Common phrases: concrete evidence, concrete proof

Clear and specific, with particular details rather than general ideas.

• Please give a concrete example.
• They agreed on concrete steps to reduce waste.
• We need concrete plans before we can begin.

Similar words: specific, definite

Opposites: vague, general

Common phrases: concrete plans, concrete steps, concrete example

Real and able to be seen or experienced, rather than existing only as an idea.

• Children learn by handling concrete objects.
• The artist turns feelings into concrete forms.
• These ideas have little connection with concrete reality.

Similar words: real, actual, tangible

Opposites: abstract

Common phrases: concrete objects, concrete reality, concrete experience

To cover an area or surround something with a hard building mixture of cement, sand, stones, and water.

• They concreted the yard.
• We plan to concrete the driveway next spring.
• The builders concreted the posts into the ground.

How to use it: concrete over something (They concreted over the old flower beds.)

Common phrases: concrete over something, concrete a driveway