What does concentrator mean?
A concentrator is a device designed to gather things dispersed across many points and bring them together into one — or, in another common sense, to intensify a substance by removing what dilutes it. The word is most at home in technical fields. In computing and telecommunications, a concentrator combines data or signals arriving on numerous input lines into fewer output lines, easing the load on a central system. In medicine, an oxygen concentrator filters nitrogen from ambient air to deliver enriched oxygen to patients. In solar energy, a solar concentrator focuses sunlight onto a small area to generate intense heat. In mining, a concentrator is plant machinery that separates valuable ore from worthless rock. Though rarely heard in casual conversation, the word is indispensable wherever engineers talk about consolidation and intensification, and its meaning is consistently transparent: whatever passes through a concentrator ends up gathered tighter than before.
nounA device or piece of equipment that gathers or consolidates something (such as data, signals, or a substance) from multiple sources into a single point, or that increases the concentration of a solution. In computing and telecommunications, it refers to a hub-like device that combines multiple input lines into fewer output lines.
- A device that combines signals or data from multiple inputs into a single output line, used in computing and telecommunications.
- A device or apparatus that increases the concentration of a substance, such as an oxygen concentrator or solar concentrator.
- (Mining/metallurgy) Equipment or a plant that separates valuable ore from waste material to produce concentrated ore.
"The network concentrator funnels traffic from dozens of branch terminals into the central mainframe."
"Patients with chronic lung conditions often rely on a portable oxygen concentrator at home."
"The mining company built a new concentrator to process ore from its expanded pit operations."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple devices, e.g. in facilities or product lines.
"The clinic installed two oxygen concentrators for its respiratory ward."
The humble oxygen concentrator pulls nitrogen out of ordinary air so it can deliver medical-grade oxygen — essentially squeezing a hospital supply line out of thin air.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of concentrator
Concentrator derives from the verb concentrate, formed in the 17th century from Latin con- ('together') plus centrum ('center'), a root also seen in concentric. English borrowed concentrate via post-classical Latin, and the agent noun concentrator — one who or that which concentrates — emerged as technology demanded a name for devices performing this action. Its cognates include French concentrer and Italian concentrare, all tracing back to the same Latin center-root.
Related word forms
How concentrator is actually used
The word is technical in register, most familiar in engineering, computing, telecommunications, mining, and medical-equipment contexts. It carries a neutral connotation. The plural is regular (concentrators).
Easily confused with concentrator
Concentration is the amount of a substance present in a mixture or the act of focusing attention, while a concentrator is the physical device or agent that performs such gathering or intensifying.