concentrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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concentrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
concentrated,
past participle, past
-
concentrating
present participle
-
to bring or draw to a common center or point of union; converge; direct toward one point; focus.
to concentrate one's attention on a problem; to concentrate the rays of the sun with a lens.
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to put or bring into a single place, group, etc..
The nation's wealth had been concentrated in a few families.
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to intensify; make denser, stronger, or purer, especially by the removal or reduction of liquid.
to concentrate fruit juice; to concentrate a sauce by boiling it down.
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Mining. to separate (metal or ore) from rock, sand, etc., so as to improve the quality of the valuable portion.
verb (used without object)
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concentrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
concentrated,
past participle, past
-
concentrating
present participle
-
to bring all efforts, faculties, activities, etc., to bear on one thing or activity (often followed by on orupon ).
to concentrate on solving a problem.
- Antonyms:
- diverge
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to come to or toward a common center; converge; collect.
The population concentrated in one part of the city.
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to become more intense, stronger, or purer.
noun
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concentrates
plural
verb
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to come or cause to come to a single purpose or aim
to concentrate one's hopes on winning
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to make or become denser or purer by the removal of certain elements, esp the solvent of a solution
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(tr) to remove rock or sand from (an ore) to make it purer
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to bring one's faculties to bear (on); think intensely (about)
noun
Synonym Usage
See contract.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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concentrativenessnoun
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concentratornoun
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nonconcentrativenessnoun
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preconcentratenoun
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overconcentrateverb
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reconcentrateverb
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concentrativeadjective
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nonconcentrativeadjective
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unconcentrativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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concentratesimple
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concentratessimple
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have concentratedperfect
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has concentratedperfect
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am concentratingprogressive
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are concentratingprogressive
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is concentratingprogressive
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have been concentratingperfect progressive
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has been concentratingperfect progressive
Past
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concentratedsimple
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had concentratedperfect
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was concentratingprogressive
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were concentratingprogressive
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had been concentratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of concentrate
First recorded in 1630–40; from French concentr(er) or Italian concentr(are) ( see con-, center) + -ate 1
Explanation
Concentrate means to make something stronger, denser, or more focused. If you concentrate your energy, for example, you become more powerful! Concentrate your efforts at digging, and you'll plant that shrub a lot faster. You may have seen the words "frozen concentrate" used to describe orange juice. That can of frozen orange goo is the juice in its purest, most condensed form — the concentrate — and it's much stronger and sweeter than the juice you'd drink. Another meaning of the verb concentrate refers to your mental focus. You might need to concentrate on what you're reading in order to understand it. When you concentrate, you strengthen your focus to shut out distractions.
Vocabulary lists containing concentrate
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In healthcare technology, the nanolaser's ability to concentrate light into an extremely small area could support ultra-sensitive sensors and high-resolution imaging systems.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
Clearly, a decision was made to concentrate on the music.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Fairley, the head of a cancer-support network and a former corporate marketer, is making her own chai at home now using a recipe she brought back from a trip to Kenya, or Tazo chai concentrate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
“Real chai has color,” said Chiya Chai co-owner Rajee Aryal, who sells chai concentrate in Minneapolis along with running cafe locations in Chicago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
I concentrate on the placement of my fingers.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
At its core is a structure known as a nanocavity, which traps and concentrates light within an exceptionally tiny space.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
China's imports of tin ore and concentrates from Myanmar in the first half of 2026 have already surpassed 2025's total at nearly 40,000 metric tonnes, Beijing's customs data shows.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
Pointed at the elite, AI concentrates power; pointed at the citizen, AI gives it back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Lamine Yamal prefers to let the media talk the talk while he concentrates on walking the walk, even with the constant Ballon d'Or chatter that has followed him since he was 16.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
John’s medical hypothesis was based on the observation that phosphorus naturally concentrates in bone marrow.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
“Wage growth is not that great. The job growth we’re seeing is concentrated in just a few sectors,” Fratantoni said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
The longer they go, the more concentrated they become.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
But leaving its longtime home would be costly for Paramount too, given how much of the talent and deal-making remains concentrated around L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
As more material crystallizes, silicon dioxide becomes increasingly concentrated in the remaining melt.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
The steps were very intricate and their faces were intent and concentrated.
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
While Walker admits two-show days can be tiring and she spends a lot of time concentrating on “energy conservation,” the performance itself is a joy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
This can have benefits, the report said, as clinicians can spent their efforts having more meaningful conversations with patients or concentrating on complex tasks.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
He also cautioned against the technology concentrating wealth, saying OpenAI did not want to be the only company in the field or to "suck up all the value."
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Rather than concentrating primarily on how alloys resist corrosion under ordinary conditions, Huang's group has focused on developing materials that remain stable at much higher electrical potentials.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
This will be accomplished by concentrating on my best assets and giving the country what it needs rather than what it wants.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
