concentration
kon-sen-TRAY-shun
/ˌkɑːnsnˈtreɪʃn/
The gathering or clustering of resources, wealth, power, or entities into a small central area or few hands.
In economics, concentration highlights monopolistic accumulation of wealth or market share among top entities.
The story behind the word. Coined in French in the 17th century ('concentration') from Latin components, meaning to bring toward a single center point. It spread to physics, chemistry, and economics.
Word relationships
- centralization: Centralization refers to bringing decision authority to a center; concentration refers to accumulation of physical wealth or volume.
- consolidation: Consolidation is the process of merging entities together, resulting in concentration.
- dispersion: Dispersion is the spreading out of elements over a wide area or population.
- decentralization: Decentralization redistributes power or assets away from a central core.
Commonly confused with
- concentration vs density: Density measures mass per unit area; concentration measures accumulation relative to a whole population or total market.
Word family
- concentrate (verb): To gather together in one place or focus attention.
- concentrated (adjective): Gathered together in high proportion.
Collocations
- concentration of wealth
- market concentration
- high concentration
- power concentration
Example sentences
- "High market concentration in telecommunications can reduce competitive pressures and elevate consumer prices." Market economics
- "The concentration of capital in top holding firms sparked legislative reviews on antitrust enforcement." Wealth distribution
Memory hook
CON-CENTRATION = bringing all things to the CENTER. Concentration gathers everything into few hands.
When not to use
Do not use when discussing even, widespread distribution across many actors.
Fun facts
- Economists measure market concentration using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), calculating firm market share squares.
Related words
Explore more words
purposeful, concerted, deliberate, assiduous, diligent, intensify
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