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to concentrate on

to concentrate on

279 3.1
Give your full attention to one activity or subject
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈkɒnsənˌtreɪt ɒn/
translation icon : concentrarse en
  • I feel like it's been hard for me to really concentrate on anything else.
  • able to concentrate on
  • tend to concentrate on
  • concentrate on tasks

But the coverage is really concentrated on the outside portion.

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Examples

  • Tourists visiting the U.K. tend to concentrate on London and the home counties.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Starting today, your training routines will concentrate on an attack strategy.

  • You know, start off, concentrate on things that you know and care about.

  • I mean, just concentrate on someone else.

  • I think you have to again, concentrate on business.

  • Grandfather agreed I should concentrate on my music for a while.

  • I wanted to concentrate on my studies, as much as I loved football and whatnot.

  • You've got to concentrate on the action and the intention.

  • Cope with what you can't control and then concentrate on what counts.

  • To succeed in his exams, he needs to concentrate on his studies this semester.

Synonyms

to focus on
vsto concentrate on
2.0

Give most attention and effort to one person or task

is the same idea but may be used more generally
to pay attention
vsto concentrate on
1.6

To focus on someone or something and notice carefully

involves deeper effort and concentration rather than simple attention
to concentrate
vsto concentrate on
561 3.4

To give all your attention to one thing

is the same meaning but used with a following object phrase
to center
vsto concentrate on
  • US
210 2.8

To focus most attention on one thing

is more about directing personal effort intensely toward something
to revolve around
vsto concentrate on
84 3.5

Be the main focus of attention, like a person or topic

is action of concentrating effort rather than stating what is main
to settle on
vsto concentrate on
55 3.1

To fix your eyes or attention on one thing

is the general act of giving attention, not only fixing on one point
to center on
vsto concentrate on
  • US
47 3.2

To have something as the main subject

is the active process of giving concentrated attention or effort
to zero in on
vsto concentrate on
44 4.2

To give most attention to one person or thing

is broader, applying to general attention rather than narrow targeting
to apply oneself to
vsto concentrate on
41 4.2

To work hard and focus on a task

is similar but can stress general attention rather than effort
to keep one's eye on the ball
vsto concentrate on
  • Informal
15 5.6

Pay attention to the main goal and avoid distractions

is broader attention, not only staying on a main task
to put one's mind to it
vsto concentrate on
14 3.5

To focus all your attention and effort on achieving something

is similar but less goal-oriented and more general attention
to revolve about
vsto concentrate on
5.8

To be mainly about one person, topic, or thing

focuses on intentional directing of attention or effort toward something

Antonyms

513 2.1

To make someone stop paying attention to what they are doing or thinking about

How Focused

to zero in on
44 4.2
to concentrate on
279 3.1
to focus on
2.0
to attend to
151 3.6

Surface Forms

concentrate on infinitive
concentrated on past participle
concentrating on present participle
concentrates on third person singular

Morphology

concentrate + on

The meaning is directly derivable from 'concentrate' (to focus mental effort) plus the preposition 'on' indicating the target of that focus; together they transparently specify directing attention or effort at something. This verb + preposition pattern is common in English and has clear cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. Spanish 'concentrarse en'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should understand it.

Etymology

The phrasal verb concentrate on comes from a simple image: think of light or a camera lens bringing everything to one point. The verb concentrate means to bring things together and on shows the target, so the phrase means 'give all your attention' to one thing.