condense Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb undergo condensation; change from a gaseous to a liquid state and fall in drops
    distil; distill.
    • water condenses
    • The acid distills at a specific temperature
  2. verb make more concise
    concentrate; digest.
    • condense the contents of a book into a summary
  3. verb remove water from
    • condense the milk
  4. verb cause a gas or vapor to change into a liquid
    • The cold air condensed the steam
  5. verb become more compact or concentrated
    • Her feelings condensed
  6. verb develop due to condensation
    • All our planets condensed out of the same material
  7. verb compress or concentrate
    concentrate; contract.
    • Congress condensed the three-year plan into a six-month plan

WordNet


Con*dense" transitive verb
Etymology
L. condensare; con- + densare to make thick or dense, densus thick, dense: cf. F. condenser. See Dense, and cf. Condensate.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Condensed ; present participle & verbal noun Condensing
Definitions
  1. To make more close, compact, or dense; to compress or concentrate into a smaller compass; to consolidate; to abridge; to epitomize.
    In what shape they choose, Dilated or condensed, bright or obscure. Milton.
    The secret course pursued at Brussels and at Madrid may be condensed into the usual formula, dissimulation, procrastination, and again dissimulation. Motley.
  2. (Chem. & Physics) To reduce into another and denser form, as by cold or pressure; as, to condense gas into a liquid form, or steam into water. Syn. -- To compress; contract; crowd; thicken; concentrate; abridge; epitomize; reduce.
Con*dense" intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To become more compact; to be reduced into a denser form.
    Nitrous acid is gaseous at ordinary temperatures, but condenses into a very volatile liquid at the zero of Fahrenheit. H. Spencer.
  2. (Chem.) (a) To combine or unite (as two chemical substances) with or without separation of some unimportant side products. (b) To undergo polymerization.
Con*dense" adjective
Etymology
L. condensus.
Definitions
  1. Condensed; compact; dense. R.
    The huge condense bodies of planets. Bentley.

Webster 1913