concrete
- 01 B1 Intermediate
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.
Simple“The workers poured wet concrete into the wooden frame to make the new sidewalk.”
In context“Modern architects often leave raw concrete exposed to highlight the industrial texture of the building's structural skeleton.”
UsageUncountable when referring to the substance; countable when referring to a specific slab or type.
- 02 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.
Simple“We need concrete evidence before we can accuse him of the crime.”
In context“While the theory is intellectually stimulating, the board requires a more concrete proposal before they will commit any further funding to the project.”
Antonyms - 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.definite and specific, not general.
adj.particular or specific rather than general or vague.
Simple“Could you give me a concrete example of how this software works?”
In context“The manager asked for concrete figures regarding the quarterly losses instead of a general summary of the market downturn.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
v.to cover a surface with concrete.
v.to cover, pave, or encase a surface or structure with concrete.
Simple“They decided to concrete the backyard to make it easier to maintain.”
In context“The engineers recommended that the entire base of the dam be concreted to prevent erosion from the high-pressure water flow.”
UsageTransitive verb; often used in the passive voice.
Usage concrete slabs
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.