concentrate

American  

[kon-suhn-trayt] / ˈkɒn sənˌtreɪt /

verb (used with object)

• concentrates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• concentrated,
  past participle,  past
• concentrating
  present participle

1. 

   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.

   Antonyms:

   disperse, dissipate

2. to put or bring into a single place, group, etc..

   The nation's wealth had been concentrated in a few families.

3. 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.

4. Mining. to separate (metal or ore) from rock, sand, etc., so as to improve the quality of the valuable portion.

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verb (used without object)

• concentrates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• concentrated,
  past participle,  past
• concentrating
  present participle

1. 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

2. to come to or toward a common center; converge; collect.

   The population concentrated in one part of the city.

3. to become more intense, stronger, or purer.

noun

• concentrates
  plural

1. a concentrated form of something; a product of concentration.

   a juice concentrate.

concentrate British  

/ ˈkɒnsənˌtreɪt /

verb

1. to come or cause to come to a single purpose or aim

   to concentrate one's hopes on winning

2. to make or become denser or purer by the removal of certain elements, esp the solvent of a solution

3. (tr) to remove rock or sand from (an ore) to make it purer

4. to bring one's faculties to bear (on); think intensely (about)

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noun

1. a concentrated material or solution

   tomato concentrate

Synonym Usage

See contract.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• concentrativeness
  noun
• concentrator
  noun
• nonconcentrativeness
  noun
• preconcentrate
  noun
• overconcentrate
  verb
• reconcentrate
  verb
• concentrative
  adjective
• nonconcentrative
  adjective
• unconcentrative
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• concentrates
  plural

Participles

• concentrating
  present
• concentrated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• concentrate
  simple
• concentrates
  simple
• have concentrated
  perfect
• has concentrated
  perfect
• am concentrating
  progressive
• are concentrating
  progressive
• is concentrating
  progressive
• have been concentrating
  perfect progressive
• has been concentrating
  perfect progressive

Past

• concentrated
  simple
• had concentrated
  perfect
• was concentrating
  progressive
• were concentrating
  progressive
• had been concentrating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will concentrate
  simple
• will have concentrated
  perfect
• will be concentrating
  progressive
• will have been concentrating
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of concentrate

First recorded in 1630–40; from French concentr(er) or Italian concentr(are) ( see con-, center) + -ate ¹

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

concentrate concentrates concentrated concentrating

NHS leaders said any move to concentrate services at one or two sites would be based on providing safer care for women and babies.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

But he found it impossible to concentrate on both his job and his acting.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

This process would have helped concentrate water in the material from which Bennu formed.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

Persistently high energy costs, could concentrate growth in an even smaller number of countries, it said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Creating active listeners who can focus, concentrate, and direct their attention should be one of the main goals of teaching, and one in which music can play a vital role.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Prices for crop products also were up for the month, but costs for metal ores, concentrates and scrap fell and prices for animals and animal products were also down.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

"The deal itself doesn't add to Musk's wealth, but it concentrates it further in one stock," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Dry heat browns, evaporates and concentrates while you go do something else.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

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

In humanities class, Ms. Steck concentrates on our previous discussion about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

The two wealth advisers left JPMorgan Chase and formed an independent firm last month after the bank said their clients’ stock portfolios were too concentrated in shares of some highflying artificial-intelligence stocks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Anderson explains that dairy products offer a familiar, convenient source of concentrated nutrition.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026

PBMs emerged as intermediaries to help health insurers steer doctors and hospitals to the cheapest drug alternatives and give insurers the concentrated heft that would afford them greater leverage in negotiations with drug manufacturers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Sun-dried tomato pesto: Another little jar of concentrated goodness.

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026

In the ship’s hold were stores for at least two years, including a recent innovation: concentrated Bovril sledging rations for the trans-Antarctic run on dogsleds.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

Symptoms can include feeling fearful, anxious or irritable, alongside difficulty concentrating and sleeping.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

To accomplish this, the team is exploring optical structures capable of concentrating light into progressively smaller regions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

Investors spreading money across those businesses may be diversifying a company’s risk while concentrating exposure to one investment cycle.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

By concentrating in the gut rather than circulating throughout the body, argyrin B could potentially reduce the risk of side effects affecting other organs.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

Marco simply raises a gloved hand to quiet her, concentrating on the rain and the wall behind her head.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

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Related Words

• accumulate
• cluster
• combine
• consolidate
• eliminate
• focus
• integrate
• intensify
• reduce
• strengthen

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