/ree'in fawrs"meuhnt, -fohrs"-/ , n.
1. the act of reinforcing.
2. the state of being reinforced.
3. something that reinforces or strengthens.
4. Often, reinforcements . an additional supply of personnel, ships, aircraft, etc., for a military force.
5. a system of steel bars, strands, wires, or mesh for absorbing the tensile and shearing stresses in concrete work.
6. Psychol.
a. a procedure, as a reward or punishment, that alters a response to a stimulus.
b. the act of reinforcing a response.
[ 1600-10; REINFORCE + -MENT ]