Executive Summary: Defining concrete and cement.

The common misconception. Once a month or so it seems I’m watching the news or listening to the radio and I hear about the guy who fell on the “cement sidewalk” or crashed into the “cement wall” with his truck.

It’s concrete people, not cement!

Definitions. Hawaiian Cement, a subsidiary of Knife River Corporation, nailed the definition of both concrete and cement:

Cement is the key binding ingredient in ready-mix concrete. Cement is a fine powder made from limestone, clay, sand or shale. When cement is mixed with water, it can bind sand and gravel into a hard, solid mass called concrete.

My story. I was out with a construction buddy enjoying a beer a couple months ago in Seattle. He was sharing with me his dutiful teaching to his toddler son of concrete versus cement. I figured it was time for a handout.

Now it’s clear. Pass on this article to your loved ones. You’re welcome.

Cement is a powder, like this:
This is a concrete walk: