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

Gillett remains optimistic, and said he would not consider importing pulp or concentrate to cut costs.

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026

The curators, having decided to concentrate on selected artists and themes rather than have a hodgepodge of single works by as many artists as possible, picked Henri Le Secq to illustrate the calotype.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2026

But rather than reducing his workload to concentrate on her care, he took on more jobs.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 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 I can usually get some if I concentrate, or if I’m allowed to use magic.”

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

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

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

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

I watch him as he closes his eyes, frowns up his face, and concentrates.

From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper

“Price pressures had been concentrated in a few categories, but the latest data suggest that these pressures may be broadening,” Fed governor Michelle Bowman acknowledged in a speech after the CPI report.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026

The most significant national risk is concentrated, fortunately.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026

"Growth was unusually concentrated in AI-related sectors," said Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics.

From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2026

But much of Nigeria's agricultural production is concentrated in the north, where insecurity has made farming increasingly difficult.

From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026

In many cities, the re-entry phenomenon is highly concentrated in a small number of neighborhoods.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Rather than concentrating on areas that have already been explored extensively, scientists can focus on locations with the greatest potential to reveal something new about Earth's prehistoric ecosystems.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026

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

“I’m actually eighteen,” I said, concentrating on my cake again.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

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Related Words

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

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