Cements may be used alone (i.e., “neat,” as grouting materials), but the normal use is in mortar and concrete in which the cement is mixed with inert material known as aggregate. Mortar is cement mixed with sand or crushed stone that must be less than approximately 5 mm (³/₁₆ inch) in size. Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand or other fine aggregate, and a coarse aggregate that for most purposes is up to 19 to 25 mm (³/₄ to 1 inch) in size, but the coarse aggregate may also be as large as 150 mm (6 inches) when concrete is placed in large masses such as dams. Mortars are used for binding bricks, blocks, and stone in walls or as surface renderings. Concrete is used for a large variety of constructional purposes. Mixtures of soil and portland cement are used as a base for roads. Portland cement also is used in the manufacture of bricks, tiles, shingles, pipes, beams, railroad ties, and various extruded products. The products are prefabricated in factories and supplied ready for installation.

Because concrete is the most widely used of all construction materials in the world today, the manufacture of cement is widespread. Each year almost one ton of concrete is poured per capita in the developed countries.