concentrate
concentrate — verb
1. to keep your mind fully on one particular activity, thought, or issue, not letti
to keep your mind fully on one particular activity, thought, or issue, not letting it drift to unrelated things
Romi put on noise-cancelling headphones to concentrate on her math homework.
concentrate + on + noun
The team must concentrate their efforts on the most urgent problems first.
transitive: concentrate + efforts + on + noun
Christopher could not concentrate in the noisy office, so he asked to work from home.
If you concentrate your energy on one project at a time, you will produce better results.
The doctor told Hassan to concentrate on his breathing during the medical exam.
- focus
more precise and often suggests blocking out distractions deliberately; 'focus the camera' is a physical metaphor 'concentrate' doesn't share
- pay attention
more general and behavioural; describes the act of listening or watching, not necessarily deep mental engagement
- zoom in
informal, suggests narrowing from a broad view to one detail
- distract
to pull attention away from something
文法句型
concentrate + on + noun/gerund
concentrate + noun + on + noun
concentrate (no object)
用法筆記
Frequently used with the preposition 'on' to specify the object of attention. The transitive pattern (concentrate + noun + on) is common with words like 'efforts', 'energy', 'resources', and 'attention'.
常見錯誤
2. to bring or gather many people, items, or amounts to a shared location so they f
to bring or gather many people, items, or amounts to a shared location so they form a dense group
Most of the city's wealth is concentrated in a few wealthy neighborhoods near the coast.
passive: be concentrated + in + location
The fighting has concentrated along the border between the two regions in recent weeks.
intransitive: concentrate + along/around + location
Lakan concentrated all his savings into a single investment account for simplicity.
The factory's main operations are concentrated in three large buildings on the same industrial estate.
During the winter months, the bird population concentrates around the lake where food is plentiful.
- gather
more general; can describe people meeting or things being collected without implying density
- accumulate
suggests gradual collection over time rather than deliberate centralisation
- cluster
suggests close grouping in small areas, often naturally
文法句型
concentrate + noun + in/at/around + location
be concentrated + in/at/around + location
concentrate + adverb of place
用法筆記
Often used in the passive voice when describing where things are located. The intransitive form (things concentrate somewhere) is less common than the transitive or passive forms. Subject can be physical objects, people, wealth, power, or natural phenomena.
常見錯誤
3. to thicken a liquid by taking water out of it, typically through boiling or evap
to thicken a liquid by taking water out of it, typically through boiling or evaporation
Kenji concentrated the stock by letting it simmer for an hour to make the soup richer.
transitive: concentrate + liquid + by boiling
The factory concentrates orange juice before shipping it to stores around the country.
Walid concentrated the chemical solution by heating it slowly until half the volume had evaporated.
The milk is concentrated at the plant so it takes up less space during transport.
Vikram concentrated the sauce until it was thick enough to coat a spoon.
- condense
similar but can also apply to text; 'condensed milk' is a specific product name while 'concentrated milk' describes a process
- reduce
cooking term for boiling liquid down; 'reduce the sauce' is more common in recipes than 'concentrate the sauce'
- thicken
focuses on texture change, not necessarily water removal; can involve adding flour or starch
- dilute
to make a liquid weaker by adding water
- water down
informal synonym of dilute
文法句型
concentrate + liquid/food + by boiling/heating
be concentrated + for + purpose
用法筆記
Primarily used in cooking and industrial processing. The result is a 'concentrate' (noun). Unlike verb sense 1, this sense never takes a human subject's attention as its object — the object is always a liquid or substance.
常見錯誤
concentrate — noun
1. a liquid, especially a food or drink such as fruit juice or soup, that has had m
a liquid, especially a food or drink such as fruit juice or soup, that has had most of its water taken out so that it is stronger and takes up less space, and can later be mixed with water for use
Anna added water to the orange concentrate and stirred it to make juice.
food/drink concentrate + add water to use
The recipe calls for tomato concentrate rather than fresh tomatoes for a richer flavour.
Campers carry juice concentrate in their packs because it weighs less than bottled drinks.
The store sells both ready-to-drink juice and frozen concentrate that you mix at home.
文法句型
[flavour/taste] + concentrate
can/bottle/carton + of + concentrate
用法筆記
Usually uncountable ('some concentrate', 'a can of concentrate'). When countable, it refers to a specific type or brand ('a range of fruit concentrates'). Different from 'concentration', which means the amount of a substance in a mixture.
常見錯誤
2. a mineral-rich substance that remains after waste stone is separated from raw or
a mineral-rich substance that remains after waste stone is separated from raw ore during the first stage of processing
The mine ships copper concentrate to a smelter where the pure metal is extracted.
mining: [metal] concentrate sent for smelting
Engineers developed a method to increase the purity of the iron concentrate at the site.
The company's main product is zinc concentrate, which is sold to refineries across Asia.
New equipment at the mine raised the quality of the lead concentrate to market standards.
The truck carried forty tons of copper concentrate from the mine to the port.
- ore concentrate
fuller technical term; synonymous but longer
文法句型
[metal] + concentrate
用法筆記
Primarily a technical term in mining engineering. The metal name always comes first: 'copper concentrate', not 'concentrate copper'. The noun 'concentrate' in this sense is distinct from 'concentration', which in mining refers to the process rather than the product.