I. ce ‧ ment 1 /sɪˈment/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: ciment , from Latin caementum 'small pieces of stone used in making mortar' , from caedere 'to cut' ]
1 . a grey powder made from ↑ lime and clay that becomes hard when it is mixed with water and allowed to dry, and that is used in building ⇨ concrete :
a bag of cement
2 . a thick sticky substance that becomes very hard when it dries and is used for filling holes or sticking things together
II. cement 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . ( also cement over ) to cover something with cement
2 . to make a relationship between people, countries, or organizations firm and strong
cement a relationship/alliance
They want to cement a good working relationship between the government and trade unions.