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   Con·crete

   /ˈkänˌkrēt/

   

   adjective

   • 1. existing in a material or physical form; not abstract: "concrete objects like stones" Similar solidmaterialrealphysicaltangibletouchabletactilepalpablevisibleexistingOpposite abstracttheoreticalimaginary
   • ▪ specific; definite: "I haven't got any concrete proof" Similar definitespecificfirmpositiveconclusivedefinitivefixeddecidedset in stonefactualactualrealgenuinesubstantialmaterialtangiblebona fideOpposite vague
   • ▪ (of a noun) denoting a material object as opposed to an abstract quality, state, or action.

   noun

   • 1. a heavy, rough building material made from a mixture of broken stone or gravel, sand, cement, and water, that can be spread or poured into molds and that forms a mass resembling stone on hardening: "slabs of concrete"

   verb

   • 1. cover (an area) with concrete: "the precious English countryside may soon be concreted over"
   • ▪ fix in position with concrete: "the post is concreted into the ground"
   • 2. form (something) into a mass; solidify: archaic "the juices of the plants are concreted upon the surface"
   • ▪ make real or concrete instead of abstract: "concreting God into actual form"

   Word Origin late Middle English (in the sense ‘solidified’): from French concret or Latin concretus, past participle of concrescere ‘grow together’. Early use was also as a grammatical term designating a quality belonging to a substance (usually expressed by an adjective such as white in white paper) as opposed to the quality itself (expressed by an abstract noun such as whiteness); later concrete came to be used to refer to nouns embodying attributes (e.g. fool, hero), as opposed to the attributes themselves (e.g. foolishness, heroism), and this is the basis of the modern use as the opposite of ‘abstract’. The noun sense ‘building material’ dates from the mid 19th century.

   Derivatives

   • 1. concreteness noun

   Scrabble Points: 12

   • C

     3

   • O

     1

   • N

     1

   • C

     3

   • R

     1

   • E

     1

   • T

     1

   • E

     1

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