Definitions
01building material
B1 · Intermediate Uncountable noun
n. a hard, grey material used in building, made by mixing cement, sand, small stones, and water.
n. a heavy-duty building material made from a mixture of broken stone or gravel, sand, cement, and water, which forms a stone-like mass upon hardening.
日本語:コンクリート※
“The workers poured wet concrete into the wooden frame to make the new sidewalk.”
“Modern architects often leave raw concrete exposed to highlight the industrial texture of the building's structural skeleton.”
Usage
Uncountable when referring to the substance; countable when referring to a specific slab or type.
02real or tangible
B2 · Upper Intermediate
adj. real and able to be seen or touched, rather than just an idea.
adj. pertaining to or concerned with realities or actual instances rather than abstractions.
日本語:具体的※
“We need concrete evidence before we can accuse him of the crime.”
“While the theory is intellectually stimulating, the board requires a more concrete proposal before they will commit any further funding to the project.”
Antonyms
03specific
B2 · Upper Intermediate
adj. definite and specific, not general.
adj. particular or specific rather than general or vague.
日本語:具体的※
“Could you give me a concrete example of how this software works?”
“The manager asked for concrete figures regarding the quarterly losses instead of a general summary of the market downturn.”
04to cover with concrete
C1 · Advanced Technical
v. to cover a surface with concrete.
v. to cover, pave, or encase a surface or structure with concrete.
Español:hormigonar
“They decided to concrete the backyard to make it easier to maintain.”
“The engineers recommended that the entire base of the dam be concreted to prevent erosion from the high-pressure water flow.”
Usage
Transitive verb; often used in the passive voice.
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “concrete” in context.
Verb
01. pour the concrete
“The construction workers began to pour the concrete for the building's foundation early this morning.”
verb + noun
02. provide concrete evidence
“The prosecutor was unable to provide concrete evidence to link the suspect to the crime scene.”
verb + adj + noun
03. set in concrete
“The posts for the new garden fence were firmly set in concrete to ensure they wouldn't move.”
verb + prep + noun
Adjective
04. concrete examples
“The teacher gave several concrete examples to help the students understand the abstract physics concept.”
adj + noun
05. reinforced concrete
“Modern skyscrapers are typically built using reinforced concrete to withstand high winds and earthquakes.”
adj + noun
Noun
06. concrete jungle
“After living in a concrete jungle for ten years, she decided to move to a small village in the countryside.”
noun + noun
07. slab of concrete
“They placed a heavy slab of concrete over the hole to prevent anyone from falling in.”
noun + of + noun
Real-World Examples
“They still could not immediately recover her body as it had been pinned down by a concrete slab.” “He said Arday, a talented goalkeeper, would bring in his own pair of gloves and dive to save shots, even on the school’s concrete playground.” “This may have locked the pigment directly to the cliff like concrete.” Etymology
Borrowed from Latin concrētus, past participle of concrescō (to curdle) from con- (with, together) + crescō (to grow, rise).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related words
Idioms
01. cast in concrete
02. concrete jungle
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- B2 · Upper IntermediateOxford
- Updated
- アルファベット
- 読み方の一覧 →
QR code
englishreference.com/q/concrete
‘외래어’ data: 한국어기초사전 (국립국어원), CC BY-SA 2.0 KR
※ 機械で選んだ訳語です。ネイティブスピーカーによる確認はまだです。
「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0
Traducciones: Kaikki.org (Wiktionary), CC BY-SA 4.0