To condense means to make something smaller, shorter, or more concentrated by removing extra parts or squeezing it down. When you condense a long book report into a single paragraph, you keep the most important ideas and cut out unnecessary details. When water vapor in the air condenses on a cold glass of lemonade, the gas transforms into liquid droplets as it cools.

Think about how steam from a boiling pot condenses into water drops on a cool lid above it, or how morning dew condenses on grass when warm, moist air meets cold ground overnight. In each case, something spread out becomes more compact and concentrated.

Scientists use condensation to describe this gas-to-liquid transformation, which is the opposite of evaporation. You can also condense ideas, writing, or information. A good summary condenses a longer work by capturing its essence in fewer words. Condensed milk is regular milk with much of the water removed, making it thicker and sweeter. When you condense something well, you preserve what matters most while making it easier to handle, understand, or use.