con•cen•trate
Pronunciation: (kon'sun-trāt"), [key]
— v., n. -trat•ed, -trat•ing,
—v.t.
- 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.
- to put or bring into a single place, group, etc.: The nation's wealth had been concentrated in a few families.
- 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.
- to separate (metal or ore) from rock, sand, etc., so as to improve the quality of the valuable portion.
—v.i.
- 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.
- to come to or toward a common center; converge; collect: The population concentrated in one part of the city.
- to become more intense, stronger, or purer.
—n.
- a concentrated form of something; a product of concentration: a juice concentrate.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.