concentrate Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the desired mineral that is left after impurities have been removed from mined ore
    dressed ore.
  2. noun a concentrated form of a foodstuff; the bulk is reduced by removing water
  3. noun a concentrated example of something
    • the concentrate of contemporary despair
  4. verb make denser, stronger, or purer
    • concentrate juice
  5. verb direct one's attention on something
    center; centre; pore; focus; rivet.
    • Please focus on your studies and not on your hobbies
  6. verb make central
    centralize; centralise.
    • The Russian government centralized the distribution of food
  7. verb make more concise
    condense; digest.
    • condense the contents of a book into a summary
  8. verb draw together or meet in one common center
    • These groups concentrate in the inner cities
  9. verb compress or concentrate
    condense; contract.
    • Congress condensed the three-year plan into a six-month plan
  10. verb be cooked until very little liquid is left
    decoct; reduce; boil down.
    • The sauce should reduce to one cup
  11. verb cook until very little liquid is left
    boil down; reduce.
    • The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time

WordNet

Con*cen"trate transitive verb
Etymology
Pref. con- + L. centrum center. Cf. Concenter.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Concentrated; present participle & verbal noun Concentrating
Definitions
  1. To bring to, or direct toward, a common center; to unite more closely; to gather into one body, mass, or force; to fix; as, to concentrate rays of light into a focus; to concentrate the attention.
    (He) concentrated whole force at his own camp. Motley.
  2. To increase the strength and diminish the bulk of, as of a liquid or an ore; to intensify, by getting rid of useless material; to condense; as, to concentrate acid by evaporation; to concentrate by washing; -- opposed to dilute.
    Spirit of vinegar concentrated and reduced to its greatest strength. Arbuthnot.
    Syn. -- To combine; to condense; to consolidate.
Con*cen"trate intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To approach or meet in a common center; to consolidate; as, population tends to concentrate in cities.

Webster 1913