Concrete is a composite material that is widely used in construction. It is composed of aggregate (sand, gravel, stone, brick chips, etc.) bonded together with a fluid cement that cures over time. Cement is actually an ingredient of concrete, and it is the fine powder that, when mixed with water, sand, and gravel or crushed stone (fine and coarse aggregate), forms concrete. The character of concrete is largely determined by a water-to-cement ratio, and the lower the water content, the stronger the concrete. The strength of concrete is measured in pounds per square inch or kilograms per square centimeter of force needed to crush a sample of a given age or hardness.
Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most widely used building material. It is used for the construction of foundations, columns, beams, slabs, and other load-bearing elements in building construction. There are different types of binding material used other than cement, such as lime for lime concrete and bitumen for asphalt concrete, which is used for road construction.
The word "concrete" comes from the Latin word "concretus" (meaning compact or condensed), the perfect passive participle of "concrescere", from "con-" (together) and "crescere" (to grow) .
