Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world because it is a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco and most non-specialty grout. It is a fine powder produced by grinding Portland cement clinker (more than 90%), a limited amount of calcium sulfate and up to 5% minor constituents.

Portland cement was developed from natural cements made in Britain in the early part of the nineteenth century, and its name is derived from its similarity to Portland stone, a type of building stone that was quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England.
Joseph Aspdin, a British bricklayer from Leeds, in 1824 was granted a patent for a process of making a cement which he called Portland cement. His cement was an artificial cement similar in properties to the material known as "Roman cement" (patented in 1796 by James Parker) and his process was similar to that patented in 1822 and used since 1811 by James Frost who called his cement "British Cement". The name "Portland cement" is also recorded in a directory published in 1823 being associated with a William Lockwood and possibly others.

Concrete is a construction material composed of cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate (generally a coarse aggregate made of crushed rocks such as limestone, or granite, plus a fine aggregate such as sand), water, and chemical admixtures.

Water
Combining water with a cementitious material forms a cement paste by the process of hydration. The cement paste glues the aggregate together, fills voids within it, and allows it to flow more freely.
Less water in the cement paste will yield a stronger, more durable concrete; more water will give an freer-flowing concrete with a higher Impure water used to make concrete can cause problems when setting or in causing premature failure of the structure.

Aggregates
Fine and coarse aggregates make up the bulk of a concrete mixture. Sand, natural gravel and crushed stone are mainly used for this purpose. Recycled aggregates (from construction, demolition and excavation waste) are increasingly used as partial replacements of natural aggregates, while a number of manufactured aggregates, including air-cooled blast furnace slag and bottom ash are also permitted.
Decorative stones such as quartzite, small river stones or crushed glass are sometimes added to the surface of concrete for a decorative "exposed aggregate" finish, popular among landscape designers.