concentration

American  

[kon-suhn-trey-shuhn] / ˌkɒn sənˈtreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of concentrating; the state of being concentrated.

2. exclusive attention to one object; close mental application.

3. something concentrated.

   a concentration of stars.

4. Military.

   1. the assembling of military or naval forces in a particular area in preparation for further operations.

   2. a specified intensity and duration of artillery fire placed on a small area.

5. the focusing of a student's academic program on advanced study in a specific subject or field.

6. Chemistry. (in a solution) a measure of the amount of dissolved substance contained per unit of volume.

7. Also called memory.  Cards. a game in which all 52 cards are spread out face down on the table and each player in turn exposes two cards at a time and replaces them face down if they do not constitute a pair, the object being to take the most pairs by remembering the location of the cards previously exposed.

---

concentration British  

/ ˌkɒnsənˈtreɪʃən /

noun

1. intense mental application; complete attention

2. the act or process of concentrating

3. something that is concentrated

4.  c.  the strength of a solution, esp the amount of dissolved substance in a given volume of solvent, usually expressed in moles per cubic metre or cubic decimetre (litre)

5. the process of increasing the concentration of a solution

6. military

   1. the act of bringing together military forces

   2. the application of fire from a number of weapons against a target

7. economics the degree to which the output or employment in an industry is accounted for by only a few firms

8. another name (esp US) for Pelmanism

---

concentration Scientific  

/ kŏn′sən-trā′shən /

1. The amount of a particular substance in a given amount of another substance, especially a solution or mixture.

---

Other Word Forms

• hyperconcentration noun
• nonconcentration noun
• overconcentration noun
• preconcentration noun

Etymology

Origin of concentration

First recorded in 1625–35; concentr(ic) + -ation

Explanation

If you have great powers of concentration, that means you're able to focus all your attention on the matter at hand. Concentration can also refer to something that's clustered together or to the density or strength of a solution. A concentration of people means that there are many of them in one area. Your city may have a concentration of artists living in the warehouses by the river. A high concentration of a substance in a solution means that there's a lot of it relative to the volume: the Great Salt Lake has very few fish because of the high concentration of salt. To say that you have good concentration skills means that you pay attention well.

Example Sentences

DirecTV and the states argue that level of audience concentration would give Nexstar greater leverage in negotiations with pay-TV distributors, leading to higher prices for viewers.

From Barron's • Apr. 18, 2026

Rosenbluth points to dividend-based ETFs as a third smart-beta approach to limit concentration risk.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

Nuttley says that pupils can lose concentration through seeing what other children are doing on screens.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

That is driving a concentration of capital into a few perceived winners.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Kappe instructed Haupt to tell his uncle Walter about his brother's imprisonment and warn him that his cooperation was the only way to help his brother get out of the concentration camp.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Related Words

• absorption
• combination
• consolidation