Curing
Keeping fresh concrete moist and at a favorable temperature so hydration can continue. Curing is not drying, and it is the most commonly skipped step in concrete work.
What does curing mean?
Concrete gains strength only while water remains available to react with cement, so a surface that dries early simply stops developing. The top layer dries first and is exactly the part that takes traffic, which is why curing failures show up as dusting, scaling, and crazing rather than as low cylinder breaks. Curing should begin as soon as the surface is at risk of drying, which on a windy day can be before finishing is complete.
In practice
The difference between a driveway that lasts thirty years and one that dusts in year one is usually a week of curing that cost almost nothing.