focal point
Also called principal focus. Optics. either of two points on the axis of a mirror, lens, or other optical system, one point being such that rays diverging from it are deviated parallel to the axis upon refraction or reflection by the system and the other point being such that rays parallel to the axis of the system converge to the point upon refraction or reflection by the system.
the point at which all elements or aspects converge; center of activity or attention: The focal point of our discussion was the need for action.
the central or principal point of focus.
Origin of focal point
1Words Nearby focal point
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use focal point in a sentence
The high-risk research has reemerged as a focal point because of speculation that such experiments in Wuhan, China, may have accidentally triggered the coronavirus pandemic.
According to CES panelists and Charbit himself, audience members should now be seen as the focal point, rather than as inactive viewers.
We’re talking about something as simple as having the seats in your living room face each other or having the seating serve as the room’s focal point.
If this area is going to be a focal point in your home and you want to be able to enjoy it season after season, invest in more durable materials.
Best patio furniture: outdoor seating that suits your space | Billy Cadden | July 20, 2021 | Popular-ScienceLast weekend, Charlottesville took down statues of Lee and Jackson that in 2017 became focal points for violent protests.
Fairfax moves toward renaming major highways that honor Confederate generals | Antonio Olivo | July 13, 2021 | Washington Post
For us it was clear that China should be the focal point for a documentary on the subject of Internet addiction.
China Doesn't Want You to See the Internet Addiction Film 'Web Junkie' | Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia | August 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Lenin statue has now become the focal point of protests for Russia, and against the ‘fascists’ in Kiev.
Perry does the opposite, creating worlds in which white people are disposable, interchangeable, and not the assumed focal point.
A moral focal point was Glen Echo Park, a wonderful art-deco playland in Maryland along the Potomac.
From Sally Draper to Arya Stark, teenage girls provide a focal point within the prestige television narrative.
‘Mad Men,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘The Americans’: Reading Prestige TV Dramas as YA Fiction | Alyssa Rosenberg | April 10, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTRain, therefore, is the focal point from which all their thoughts radiate.
Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) | Carl LumholtzAnd so, in the employ of Professor Morgan, I shifted the focal point and turned the search-light of science upon the accuser.
The Rest Hollow Mystery | Rebecca N. PorterNo teaching is worth much without enthusiasm, and enthusiasm is generated by concentrating interest at a focal point.
Revisiting the Earth | James Langdon HillAwareness drifted in formless inattention until a focal point, a mere nucleus of intellect, captured and held it.
The Short Life | Francis DonovanIf he can cause the thinking of people to center upon a focal point, he establishes his claim to leadership.
The Reconstructed School | Francis B. Pearson
British Dictionary definitions for focal point
Also called: principal focus, focus the point on the axis of a lens or mirror to which parallel rays of light converge or from which they appear to diverge after refraction or reflection
a central point of attention or interest
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for focal point
The point at which all radiation coming from a single direction and passing through a lens or striking a mirror converges. Also called focus
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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