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.
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, esp. 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)
5.
to bring all efforts, faculties, activities, etc., to bear on one thing or activity (often fol. by on or upon): to concentrate on solving a problem.
6.
to come to or toward a common center; converge; collect: The population concentrated in one part of the city.
7.
to become more intense, stronger, or purer.
–noun
8.
a concentrated form of something; a product of concentration: a juice concentrate.
[Origin: 1630–40; concentr(ic)+ -ate2; cf. F concentrer, It concentrare]
con·cen·trateAudio Help (kŏn'sən-trāt') Pronunciation Key
v.
con·cen·trat·ed, con·cen·trat·ing, con·cen·trates
v.
tr.
To direct or draw toward a common center; focus.
To bring into one main body: Authority was concentrated in the president.
To make (a solution or mixture) less dilute.
v.
intr.
To converge toward or meet in a common center.
To increase by degree; gather: "Dusk began to concentrate into full night"(Anthony Hyde).
To direct one's thoughts or attention: We concentrated on the task before us.
n.
A product that has been concentrated, especially a food that has been reduced in volume or bulk by the removal of liquid: pineapple juice concentrate.
[From concenter.]
con'cen·tra'tive adj., con'cen·tra'tive·ly adv., con'cen·tra'tor n.
1640, from concenter (1591), from It. concentrare, from L. com- "together" + centrum "center" (see center). Originally "to bring or come to a common center," sense of "mental focus" is after 1860. Concentration camp first used 1901, to describe such camps in second Boer War (1899-1902); it was applied to Nazi Germany as early as 1934.
Con*cen"ter\, Concentre \Con*cen"tre\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Concentered or Concentred; p. pr & vb. n. Concenteringor Concentring.] [F. concentrer, fr. L. con- + centrum center. See Center, and cf. Concentrate] To come to one point; to meet in, or converge toward, a common center; to have a common center. God, in whom all perfections concenter. --Bp. Beveridge.
Con*cen"trate\ (? or ?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Concentrated; p. pr. & vb. n. Concentrating.] [Pref. con- + L. centrum center. Cf. Concenter.]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.
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