concrete (concretes 3rd person present) (concreting present participle) (concreted past tense & past participle )
1 n-uncount Concrete is a substance used for building which is made by mixing together cement, sand, small stones, and water.
oft N n
The posts have to be set in concrete..., They had lain on sleeping bags on the concrete floor.
2 verb When you concrete something such as a path, you cover it with concrete.
He merely cleared and concreted the floors. V n
3 adj You use concrete to indicate that something is definite and specific.
usu ADJ n
He had no concrete evidence..., I must have something to tell him. Something concrete.
♦
concretely adv oft ADV with cl
...by way of making their point more concretely.
4 adj A concrete object is a real, physical object.
usu ADJ n
...using concrete objects to teach addition and subtraction.
5 adj A concrete noun is a noun that refers to a physical object rather than to a quality or idea.
ADJ n (Antonym: abstract)
6 If a plan or idea is set in concrete or embedded in concrete, it is fixed and cannot be changed.
♦
set in concrete/embedded in concrete phrase v-link PHR
As Mr Blunkett emphasised, nothing is yet set in concrete.