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
Holes
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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:
The pitch is familiar: Faster service, fewer mistakes and less repetitive work for employees, who will theoretically be freed to concentrate on something more important.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
The settings do not merely suggest sterility but concentrate the mind on the performers’ fascinating countenances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Kate Herridge, a PhD student working on the project, said the next step was to "concentrate these water samples" and "find if any pathogens have attached themselves to the samplers".
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Previous research has associated metabolites produced during protein fermentation with effects on the brain, including anxiety and reduced ability to concentrate.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
“You have to forbid yourself from thinking that your plane will end up the same way. You concentrate on a successful mission.”
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
But that's not featured in Cabinet Office plans in the UK, which instead concentrates on telling employers to publish salary information in job adverts.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Dry heat browns, evaporates and concentrates while you go do something else.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 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
Most current guidance, however, concentrates on the total amount of time people spend sedentary.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
I watch him as he closes his eyes, frowns up his face, and concentrates.
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
In fact, within the crude oil shipping market, the Breakwave ETF has an even more concentrated exposure.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
In quantitative finance, where many of the highest-paying internships are concentrated, experience arguably matters less than in most other disciplines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Once inside the joint, the gel acts as a storage site for lacosamide, keeping the medication concentrated in the affected area while gradually releasing it over several weeks.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
But as COVID-19 spread, they began spraying the concentrated solution across wide areas, “directly into the air and on all types of surfaces,” the lawsuit said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
The hare clarified while Duane concentrated very hard on understanding her clarification.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
The rapid empire building has stirred unease in Hollywood, where filmmakers and other talent worry that concentrating so much production and distribution under one owner could give them fewer places to sell their work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
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
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
"I love Ellie as a person, and as a fighter she's great, but right now I'm concentrating on this fight," Serrano says.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
He was concentrating on the people passing him in cars.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
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.
