concentration

noun

Saykon-suhn-TRAY-shuhn/ˌkɑn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/UK/ˌkɒn.sənˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/

8 meanings of concentration

1
noununcountable
Giving all of your attention to one particular thing.
Like pointing a flashlight at just one spot in a dark room.
The puzzle demanded his full concentration.
Reading in a busy room takes real concentration.
Similarfocus, attention, absorption
Oppositedistraction, inattention
2
noununcountable
The skill of focusing your mind, or the act of doing it.
Like gathering all your energy into one job instead of spreading it thin.
Years of practice improved her concentration.
The job needs steady concentration all day long.
Similarfocus, attention, application, absorption
Oppositedistraction, inattention
Note
3
noununcountable
How much of one substance there is inside a mixture.
Like how much sugar is mixed into a glass of lemonade.
The concentration of salt in the water was very high.
Adding more juice raised the sugar concentration in the drink.
Similarlevel, content, proportion, density, amount
Note
4
noununcountable
The amount of a dissolved substance in a liquid mixture.
Like how strong or weak juice tastes depending on how much water you add.
The concentration of chlorine in the pool was measured each morning.
A low concentration of salt makes the water taste almost fresh.
Similarlevel, strength
Note
5
noununcountable
The act of making a liquid thicker by removing some of its water.
Like boiling a pot of soup until it turns thick and rich.
The concentration of the tomato sauce took hours of slow simmering.
Juice makers use concentration to remove water before shipping the product.
Similarreduction, evaporation, condensation
Oppositedilution
6
noununcountable
The main subject a student chooses to study at college.
Like choosing one path to follow when a road splits into many.
Her concentration in college was marine biology.
He picked economics as his concentration.
Similarmajor, specialization, specialty, focus, emphasis
7
noununcountable
A card game where you turn cards over to find matching pairs.
Like a memory test where you flip cards to match them in pairs.
The kids played concentration with a deck of cards after dinner.
She almost always wins at concentration because she remembers every card.
Similarmemory, pelmanism, pairs
Note
8
noununcountable
The process of separating valuable metal from waste rock in mining.
Like panning for gold, where you wash away the dirt and keep the shiny bits.
Concentration of the crushed ore left behind most of the worthless rock.
Miners used running water to aid the concentration of gold from the gravel.
Similarenrichment
Note

Practice

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Origin

It comes from the New Latin word "concentratio," meaning coming together at one place. It is made from "concentrate" plus "-ion."