concentrate

verb

con·cen·trate | \ ˈkän(t)-sən-ˌtrāt

, -ˌsen-\

concentrated; concentrating

Definition of concentrate

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : to bring or direct toward a common center or objective : focus concentrate one's efforts The lenses concentrate sunlight.

b : to gather into one body, mass, or force Power was concentrated in a few able hands. concentrate the energy of a sound wave

c : to accumulate (a toxic substance) in bodily tissues Fish concentrate mercury.

2a : to make less dilute concentrate syrup

b : to express or exhibit in condensed form

intransitive verb

1 : to draw toward or meet in a common center

2 : gather, collect Cuban immigrants who concentrate in Florida

3 : to focus one's powers, efforts, or attention concentrate on a problem Farmers are concentrating on the wheat harvest.

concentrate

noun

Definition of concentrate (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : something concentrated: such as

a : a mineral-rich product obtained after an initial processing of ore

b : a food reduced in bulk by elimination of fluid orange juice concentrate

2 : a feedstuff (such as grains) relatively rich in digestible nutrients — compare fiber

Other Words from concentrate Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about concentrate

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Synonyms & Antonyms for concentrate

Synonyms: Verb

condense

Antonyms: Verb

dilute, water (down)

Examples of concentrate in a Sentence

Verb

All that noise makes it hard to concentrate. The student has difficulty concentrating. The sauce should be simmered for a few minutes to concentrate its flavors.

Noun

a frozen orange juice concentrate Is this orange juice fresh or is it made from concentrate?

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Female workers continue to be concentrated in lower-paying positions. — Alicia Glen, Marie Claire, "Alicia Glen of Women.NYC on Helping Women and Female-Led Business Get the Money They Deserve," 3 Apr. 2019 This meal encourages children to attend school and enables them to better concentrate and maximise their learning potential. — Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, "Oops—"Sussex Royal" Had to Delete and Repost Their Latest Instagram Post," 8 Apr. 2019 Much of the planet’s excess carbon dioxide is concentrated at the North Pole, and temperatures are increasing faster there than anywhere else. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Almost All of the Arctic's Oldest Ice Is Already Gone," 11 Dec. 2018 But the team found that some of the patients had trouble concentrating and focusing their eyes. — Rachel Becker, The Verge, "Why we still don’t know what’s going on with ‘sonic attacks’ in Cuba and China," 15 June 2018 The upside is that this approach lets Apple concentrate its (relatively limited) resources, and if all software (eventually) uses only one toolkit, the UI experience will be much more consistent and familiar to users. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "From Win32 to Cocoa: A Windows user’s would-be conversion to Mac OS X, part III," 28 May 2018 The executive presidency, which narrowly passed in a referendum in April 2017, will concentrate more powers in the president's hands and abolish the office of the prime minister. — Fox News, "Erdogan in Sarajevo to rally European Turks for re-election," 20 May 2018 The Japanese firm is instead concentrating on using artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to make conventional cars safer and more enjoyable to drive. — The Economist, "Toyota takes a winding road to autonomous vehicles," 19 May 2018 Most of the blow-dryers found in hotel rooms don’t allow for attachments (i.e. diffusers, concentrated air nozzles, and combs) that people with naturally curly or textured hair need. — Andrea Arterbery, Glamour, "For Women of Color, Hotel Shampoo Isn't Just Meh—It's Literally Unusable," 16 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

For bait, try overripe fruit, raw meat, fish, moist canned cat food, fruit juice concentrate, molasses in water, soda pop, or any other foods or beverages that your local population tends to go for. — Jean Nick, Good Housekeeping, "How to Wasp-Proof Your Backyard This Summer," 26 July 2018 The concentrates are in another category altogether. — Carrie Feibel, Washington Post, "With The Rise Of Legal Weed, Drug Education Moves From ‘Don’t’ to ‘Delay’," 7 June 2018 Meanwhile, powdered-drink mixes and concentrates—which aren’t affected by the tax—jumped 31% to $1.1 million. — Scott Calvert, WSJ, "Pennsylvania High Court Backs Philadelphia Beverage Tax," 18 July 2018 Liquid poison concentrate costs about $70 for one 20-ounce jug, which, when diluted, will make about 24 gallons of termite poison. — Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, "How to Get Rid of Termites," 8 Jan. 2019 But in June the European Union put a 25% tariff on U.S. cranberry-juice concentrate in retaliation for U.S. steel tariffs. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Pass the Cronyberry Sauce," 20 Nov. 2018 The sneakiest source of simple carbs are sugary beverages: sodas, juices (fresh squeezed and from concentrate), sweetened tea and coffee beverages, drink mixers and the ilk. — Jaclyn London, Ms, Rd, Cdn, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need to Know About a Diabetic Diet," 23 Aug. 2017 Instead of using sugary fruit juices or blends from concentrate, opt for a juice that doesn’t have sugar on the ingredient list. — Fox News, "7 ways to slim down your summer barbecue spread," 31 Aug. 2016 Liquid termite poison is most often sold as a concentrate that must be diluted with water. — Joseph Truini, Popular Mechanics, "How to Get Rid of Termites," 8 Jan. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'concentrate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Statistics for concentrate

Last Updated

12 May 2019

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Time Traveler for concentrate

The first known use of concentrate was in 1628

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More Definitions for concentrate

concentrate

verb

English Language Learners Definition of concentrate

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to think about something : to give your attention to the thing you are doing, reading, etc.

: to cause (attention, efforts, strength, etc.) to be used or directed for a single purpose

: to make (something, such as a liquid) stronger by removing water

concentrate

noun

English Language Learners Definition of concentrate (Entry 2 of 2)

: a substance that is made stronger or more pure by removing water

See the full definition for concentrate in the English Language Learners Dictionary

concentrate

verb

con·cen·trate | \ ˈkän-sən-ˌtrāt

concentrated; concentrating

Kids Definition of concentrate

1 : to focus thought or attention on something

2 : to bring or come to or direct toward a common center Moonlight seemed to concentrate upon the highly-polished steel dome …— Brian Jacques, Redwall

3 : to make stronger or thicker by removing something (as water) Simmer the sauce to concentrate its flavors.