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.
They will be concentrated in the funds that were already making mistakes before AI gave them a new way to make them.
From Barron's
Some have argued that this is a natural and healthy shift for equities in an aging bull market—a broadening rally can mean less concentrated risk.
From Barron's
Their plants are concentrated in relatively safe areas close to the U.S. border, like Monterrey.
From Barron's
She went to Folkestone and Dover School of Art but didn't paint at all once she married and had children, deciding to concentrate on raising her family.
From BBC
Mass layoffs concentrated in traditionally high-paying fields begin to ripple through the economy.
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.
