concentration

noun

con·​cen·​tra·​tion ˌkän(t)-sən-ˈtrā-shən 

-ˌsen-

1

a

: the act or process of concentrating : the state of being concentrated

especially : direction of attention to a single object

All that noise is disturbing my concentration.

b

: an academic major or area of focus within a major

The student chose law as his concentration.

2

: a concentrated mass or thing

a concentration of wealth in the merchant class

3

: the amount of a component in a given area or volume

The ozone concentration in the lower stratosphere has declined.

Synonyms

• absorption
• attention
• engrossment
• enthrallment
• immersion

Examples of concentration in a Sentence

All that noise is disturbing my concentration.

The job required her full concentration.

When you're tired it's easy to lose your concentration.

There was a concentration on ethics within the agency.

There is a concentration of wealth in the cities.

He objects to the concentration of power in the hands of a few rich men.

Recent Examples on the Web

By November 2020, the crime lab had developed a method for testing THC concentrations, according to a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police Department, which tests most of the drugs in cases from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. —Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 26 Feb. 2025

This minimizes context switching, fosters sustained concentration and reduces decision fatigue. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025

Congress concurred: a geographically diverse scientific footprint would create concentrations of modern technology and high-wage jobs outside of the Northeast’s corridors of power. —Trysh Travis / Made By History, TIME, 25 Feb. 2025

For example, Colorado is placing six new air quality monitors in locations around the state to measure concentrations of the five priority air toxics. —Jenni Shearston, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see concentrate entry 1

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing concentration

• concentration camp
• hyper-concentration

Rhymes for concentration

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

concentration

noun

con·​cen·​tra·​tion ˌkän(t)-sən-ˈtrā-shən 

-sen-

1

: the act or process of concentrating : the state of being concentrated

especially : direction of attention on a single object

2

: a concentrated mass

3

: the amount of an ingredient or part in relation to that of others : strength

the concentration of salt in a solution

Medical Definition

concentration

noun

con·​cen·​tra·​tion ˌkän(t)-sən-ˈtrā-shən, -ˌsen- 

1

: the act or action of concentrating: as

a

: a directing of the attention or of the mental faculties toward a single object

b

: an increasing of strength (as of a solute or a gas in a mixture) or a purifying by partial or total removal of diluents, solvents, admixed gases, extraneous material, or waste (as by evaporation or diffusion)

2

: a crude active principle of a vegetable especially for pharmaceutical use in the form of a powder or resin

3

: the relative content of a component (as dissolved or dispersed material) of a solution, mixture, or dispersion that may be expressed in percentage by weight or by volume, in parts per million, or in grams per liter