concentrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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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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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
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
Related Words
See contract.
Other Word Forms
- concentrative adjective
- concentrativeness noun
- concentrator noun
- nonconcentrative adjective
- nonconcentrativeness noun
- overconcentrate verb
- preconcentrate noun
- reconcentrate verb
- unconcentrative adjective
Etymology
Origin of concentrate
First recorded in 1630–40; from French concentr(er) or Italian concentr(are) ( con-, center ) + -ate 1
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.
January showed green shoots of improved job creation, though most of last month’s hiring was concentrated in just one sector: healthcare.
Paul Fischer’s lively history of the new wave of California directors, “The Last Kings of Hollywood,” concentrates on Lucas, Coppola and Steven Spielberg.
From Los Angeles Times
The occupational data allow you to understand what kinds of people are being hired or fired—perhaps where some of the cost-cutting measures are concentrated, whether in things like sales or administrative roles.
From Barron's
Rather than concentrating on nerve or muscle function, the researchers turned their attention to colonic mucin.
From Science Daily
January’s jobs report showed the economy added 130,000 jobs, with most of those gains concentrated in healthcare and social assistance, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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.
