Meaning & use
concentrate
Last updated
Meanings
verbintransitive
To focus your full attention or effort on one task or subject.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'on': concentrate on your work.
Patterns
- concentrate on something
- concentrate on doing something
I can't concentrate on my homework with the TV on.
She concentrated hard on the difficult math problem.
If you concentrate on one thing at a time, you'll finish faster.
verbtransitivetechnical
To make something stronger or more pure by removing water or other unwanted parts.
Grammar: Takes an object: concentrate the juice.
Patterns
- concentrate something
- concentrate something by doing something
The factory concentrates the orange juice by removing some water.
They concentrated the solution by boiling it.
You can concentrate the flavor by simmering the sauce.
nouncountable or uncountabletechnical
A substance that has had water or other liquid removed, making it strong and undiluted.
Grammar: Can be countable (a concentrate) or uncountable (some concentrate).
Patterns
- a concentrate
- fruit concentrate
- add concentrate to something
Add a spoonful of the concentrate to a glass of water.
The juice is made from a concentrate.
This cleaning product is a concentrate, so you must dilute it.
Word forms
| third person singular | concentrates |
|---|---|
| past tense | concentrated |
| past participle | concentrated |
| -ing form | concentrating |
Common combinations
- concentrate on
- Please concentrate on your spelling.
- concentrate hard
- He concentrated hard to remember the name.
- concentrate one's efforts
- We should concentrate our efforts on the most important tasks.
- concentrate the mind
- The deadline really concentrated my mind.
- fruit juice concentrate
- This drink is made from fruit juice concentrate.
Synonyms and how they differ
- focus
- Often used in the same way, but 'focus' can also be a noun and is slightly more formal.
- pay attention
- A phrase that means to watch or listen carefully, but it doesn't always imply putting all your effort into one task.
- apply oneself
- More formal and suggests working hard, not just directing your attention.
Opposites
Word family
- concentration noun
- The ability to focus, or the act of focusing.
- concentrated adjective
- Stronger or more pure because water has been removed; also means fully focused.
- concentrate noun
- A strong, undiluted substance.
Commonly confused: concentrate or concentrate?
concentrate vs concentrate
As a noun, 'concentrate' means a strong substance, not the act of focusing. The verb is 'concentrate'.
Practice
I can't concentrate ___ my work when it's noisy.
Choose one answer.
The verb 'concentrate' is followed by 'on' when talking about focusing attention. 'Concentrate to' is a common mistake and is not used.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “concentrate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.