concentrate

[ kon-suhn-treyt ]

verb (used with object)

, con·cen·trat·ed, con·cen·trat·ing.

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.

verb (used without object)

, con·cen·trat·ed, con·cen·trat·ing.

1. to bring all efforts, faculties, activities, etc., to bear on one thing or activity (often followed by on or upon ):

   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

1. a concentrated form of something; a product of concentration:

   a juice concentrate.

concentrate

/ 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. introften foll byon to bring one's faculties to bear (on); think intensely (about)

noun

1. a concentrated material or solution

   tomato concentrate

Derived Forms

• ˈconcenˌtrator, noun

Other Words From

• con·cen·tra·tive [kon, -s, uh, n-trey-tiv, k, uh, n-, sen, -tr, uh, -], adjective
• concen·trative·ness noun
• concen·trator noun
• non·concen·trative adjective
• non·concen·trative·ness noun
• over·concen·trate verb overconcentrated overconcentrating
• pre·concen·trate noun verb preconcentrated preconcentrating
• re·concen·trate verb reconcentrated reconcentrating
• un·concen·trative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of concentrate¹

First recorded in 1630–40; from French concentr(er) or Italian concentr(are) ( con-, center ) + -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of concentrate¹

C17: back formation from concentration , ultimately from Latin com- same + centrum centre

Synonym Study

See contract.

Example Sentences

“We really concentrate on the experience and making it as memorable and special as possible.”

From Los Angeles Times

Although the metals are available on land, they are concentrated in a small number of countries, increasing the risk to supply.

From BBC

Others have “Italian” in their description, such as Asda’s double concentrate which says it contains “Puréed Italian grown tomatoes” - and Waitrose’s “Essential Tomato Purée”, describing itself as “Italian tomato puree”.

From BBC

Power inevitably concentrates around the president, with his authority to dispense government funds.

From BBC

Ms Morgan said the prosecution will concentrate on six "key operations" carried out by the defendants, with each of them playing a role in at least two of the operations.

From BBC

Related Words

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