- (transitive)
to increase the density of; compress to reduce or be reduced in volume or size; make or become more compact to change or cause to change from a gaseous to a liquid or solid state to undergo or cause to undergo condensation
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
con•dense /kənˈdɛns/USA pronunciation
v., -densed, -dens•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Physics to make more dense or compact;
reduce (a speech, etc.) to a shorter form:[~ + object]She condensed the half-hour speech to a five-minute version. - Physicsto (cause to) change to a denser form, as by cooling: [no object]The water vapor condensed into droplets.[~ + object]The cold condensed the water vapor into droplets on the glass.
con•dense
(kən dens′),USA pronunciation v., -densed, -dens•ing.
v.t.
v.i.
v.t.
- Physicsto make more dense or compact;
reduce the volume or extent of;
concentrate. - to reduce to a shorter form;
abridge:Condense your answer into a few words. - Physicsto reduce to another and denser form, as a gas or vapor to a liquid or solid state.
v.i.
- to become denser or more compact or concentrated.
- to reduce a book, speech, statement, or the like, to a shorter form.
- Physicsto become liquid or solid, as a gas or vapor:The steam condensed into droplets.
- Latin condēnsāre, equivalent. to con- con- + dēnsāre to thicken, verb, verbal derivative of dēnsus dense
- Middle French condenser
- 1475–85
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged compress, consolidate.
- 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged digest, epitomize, abstract, abbreviate. See contract.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged expand.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'condensing' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):