concentrate vs meet
Concentrate and meet are only loosely related and rarely interchangeable. Concentrate is to draw scattered things to one central point, to make something denser, or to focus. Meet is to come together with someone or something, or to satisfy a requirement. Concentrate masses many things at a centre; meet only brings things into contact at a point.
Quick rule: gather many things to one point, making them denser → concentrate; come into contact at the same point, or satisfy a requirement → meet.
A round glass is held between the sun and the table, and the wide mild light falling on it is bent to a single dot — the same light, but pulled to one point it stops being warm and turns fierce, and a thread of smoke lifts from where it lands.
/ˈkɑːnsntreɪt//ˈkɒnsntreɪt/·verb, nounTwo travellers climb from opposite corners on their own roads, neither aware of the other; they reach the junction at the very same moment, the point brightening as they arrive — and then there is only one road ahead, and they take it together.
/miːt//miːt/·verbBoth involve a point, but one masses many things there and the other just brings two into contact. Concentrate, from centrum 'centre', gathers scattered things to a central point, packs a substance denser, or focuses the mind. Meet, an old everyday word, means to come into contact at the same point — two roads, two people — or to satisfy a need or standard. Forces are concentrated at a point; two roads meet at a junction. One masses many to a centre; the other brings two into contact.
What each means
concentrate
To concentrate is to gather toward one centre until it is strong — from the Latin com- 'together' and centrum 'centre'. Scattered forces concentrate at a border; a reader concentrates on a page, pulling stray attention to one point; boiling concentrates a juice by driving off its water. As a noun, a concentrate is what is left when the water is gone: the same substance, no longer spread thin. To consolidate holdings is close, but concentrate keeps the sense of intensity growing as things gather.
meet
To meet is for separate things to come together at one place or moment — two roads meet, old friends meet, a river meets the sea. From the Old English mētan, it has always carried this coming-together, but its real academic value is abstract: to meet a deadline, a target, or a demand is to be enough for it, to rise to what is asked. Where independent paths converge on the same point, they meet — and from that point they may go on together.
At a glance
| concentrate | meet | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | gather to one point; make denser | come into contact; satisfy a requirement |
| At the point | many things massed and intensified | things come into contact |
| Register | neutral, everyday to technical | plain, everyday |
| Often with | attention, power, forces, a solution | people, roads, a deadline, a need |
| Noun | concentration | a meeting |
| Example | Concentrate the forces. | The roads meet here. |
How to remember the difference
Ask whether many gather to a point, or two simply make contact. Concentrate masses scattered things at a centre and intensifies them — light pulled to a burning dot. Meet just brings things into contact at a point — two travellers at a junction. If many things gather to a point and pack tight, that is concentrate; if things come together at a point, that is meet.
Examples
concentrate
- The general concentrated his forces at the pass.
- The lens concentrates the light onto one spot.
- Try to concentrate on one task at a time.
meet
- Let's meet at the station at noon.
- The two rivers meet just below the town.
- The design meets all the safety requirements.
These are not true synonyms. Concentrate masses many things to a centre and intensifies them; meet merely brings things into contact at a point, or satisfies a standard. They touch only in the idea of 'a point', but concentrate performs a gathering while meet notes a contact. And meet has a whole sense — to satisfy a requirement — that concentrate never shares.
FAQ
- What is the difference between concentrate and meet?
- Concentrate is to draw scattered things to one central point, make something denser, or focus, while meet is to come together with someone or something, or to satisfy a requirement. Concentrate masses many things at a centre; meet only brings things into contact at a point. In the scenes above, a lens gathers wide light to a single burning point, while two travellers merely reach the same junction and walk on together.
- Are concentrate and meet synonyms?
- Only very loosely. Both involve a point, but concentrate masses many things at a centre and intensifies them, while meet brings things into contact there. You could never swap them — 'the forces met at a point' works, but 'concentrate at noon' or 'the design concentrates the rules' do not. Treat them as related only by the idea of a point.
- What does it mean to meet a requirement?
- To satisfy it — to reach or match a standard, need or deadline, as in 'the design meets the safety rules'. This is one of meet's most common senses and has no echo in concentrate, which is about gathering to a point or focusing. So meet ranges from people coming together to standards being satisfied, while concentrate stays with massing and focus.
- Does concentrate mean things come together?
- In a sense, but with a difference. Concentrate gathers many scattered things to one centre and packs them tight or intensifies them, as the light is massed to a burning point in the scene above. Meet is lighter: two things simply come into contact at a point and may then part. Concentrate is a forceful gathering; meet a simple contact.
- What are the noun forms of concentrate and meet?
- Concentration and a meeting (also 'a meet' in sport). 'Concentration' names a gathering to a point, focus, or the strength of a solution; 'a meeting' names an occasion when people come together. The nouns keep the verbs apart: one names a massing and intensifying, the other a coming-together or point of contact.
- Which word fits massing troops at one point?
- Concentrate. Troops are concentrated at one point — massed there for effect, as the light is gathered to a burning dot in the scene above. You would say they 'meet' only if two forces simply came into contact. The tell is what happens at the point: concentrate masses many things and intensifies them, meet brings things into contact.
- Can forces meet where they are concentrated?
- Yes, and the two words then do different jobs. Two forces may meet at a point — come into contact there — and a commander may concentrate strength at that same point, massing troops to hold it. Meet marks the contact; concentrate packs power into the spot. One notes the coming-together, the other builds intensity at it.