concentrate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
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
-
had concentratedperfect
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was concentratingprogressive
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were concentratingprogressive
-
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:
Did the Wood, the VAR, concentrate too much on a possible handball by Tarkowski within the move?
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
During ordinary acute pain, the brain generally reduces activity in the DMN so it can concentrate on the immediate source of danger.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
But he found it impossible to concentrate on both his job and his acting.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Organic revenue growth was 7%, driven by increased concentrate sales and higher prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Everything is too much—the noise and the battle to concentrate make my brain hurt.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
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
Crude energy products were the main driver of the monthly increase, followed by metal ores, concentrates and scrap.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 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
His eyes are intense as he concentrates on what he’s doing, and he bites his lower lip.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
Memory-chip sales are currently concentrated among a handful of buyers, he said, pointing to large cloud service providers looking to build out AI infrastructure.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
A concentrated position is typically four times more volatile than a diversified benchmark, he said.
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
He concentrated his whole being on the job in hand, sometimes clinging to the stones by no more than a single claw.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Monet was so disgusted by his country’s moral descent following the Dreyfus Affair that he stopped painting recognizable French subjects, concentrating for the rest of his life instead on his water lilies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
There was criticism too for the Crown Estate concentrating too much of its urban property portfolio in London and the south east of England, with MPs calling for more of a regional spread.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
For now, Woods is concentrating on her career and cheering on her New York Knicks star husband.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
Instead of concentrating almost exclusively on reducing salt, future dietary recommendations may increasingly emphasize the combined benefits of consuming less sodium and more potassium.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
Dawn approaches without anything happening—only the everlasting, nerve-wracking roll behind the enemy lines, trains, trains, lorries, lorries; but what are they concentrating?
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
