focus
a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity: The need to prevent a nuclear war became the focus of all diplomatic efforts.
close attention or concentration: Some of the warning signs indicating you should pull over: drifting between lanes, repeated yawning, tailgating, and trouble maintaining focus.
the ability to concentrate one’s attention or to sustain concentration:Mindfulness and meditation are often suggested to help manage stress, increase awareness of emotions, and improve focus.
Physics. a point at which rays of light, heat, or other radiation meet after being refracted or reflected.
Optics.
the focal point of a lens, on which rays converge or from which they deviate.
the focal length of a lens; the distance from a focal point to a corresponding principal plane.
the clear and sharply defined condition of an image.
the position of a viewed object or the adjustment of an optical device necessary to produce a clear image: in focus; out of focus.
Geometry. (of a conic section) a point having the property that the distances from any point on a curve to it and to a fixed line have a constant ratio for all points on the curve.
Geology. the point of origin of an earthquake.
Pathology. the primary center from which a disease develops or in which it localizes.
to bring to a focus or into focus; cause to converge on a perceived point: to focus the lens of a camera.
to concentrate: to focus one's thoughts;to focus troop deployment in the east.
to be or become focused: My eyes have trouble focusing on distant objects.
to direct one's attention or efforts: Students must focus in class.
Origin of focus
1Other words for focus
Other words from focus
- fo·cus·a·ble, adjective
- fo·cus·er, noun
- mis·fo·cus, verb, mis·fo·cused, mis·fo·cus·ing or (especially British) mis·fo·cussed, mis·fo·cus·sing.
- mis·fo·cused, adjective
- mis·fo·cussed, adjective
- o·ver·fo·cus, verb (used with object), o·ver·fo·cused, o·ver·fo·cus·ing or (especially British) o·ver·fo·cussed, o·ver·fo·cus·sing.
- re·fo·cus, verb, re·fo·cused, re·fo·cus·ing or (especially British) re·fo·cussed, re·fo·cus·sing.
- self-fo·cused; especially British, self-fo·cussed, adjective
- self-fo·cus·ing; especially British, self-fo·cus·sing, adjective
- un·fo·cus·ing; especially British, un·fo·cus·sing, adjective
- well-fo·cused; especially British, well-fo·cussed, adjective
Words Nearby focus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use focus in a sentence
In the intervening period, as we weighed the cost of our overall portfolio and strategic focus, we made the decision not to relaunch the service.
Several startups, including MJ Platform and BioTrack, are building similar platforms for this market, but Canix says the company’s focus on improving data entry makes it stand apart.
Canix aims to ease cannabis cultivators’ regulatory bookkeeping | Matt Burns | September 17, 2020 | TechCrunchWest Virginia environmental regulators are proposing to reduce the fines that a coal company owned by the state’s governor could pay for water pollution violations that are the focus of a federal court case.
This Billionaire Governor’s Coal Company Might Get a Big Break From His Own Regulators | by Ken Ward Jr. | September 17, 2020 | ProPublicaInitially there may be a limited supply of vaccines available, and the focus will be on protecting health workers, other essential employees, and people in vulnerable groups.
U.S. outlines sweeping plan to provide free COVID-19 vaccines | Rachel Schallom | September 16, 2020 | FortuneHowever, different aspects vary based on the agency’s focus.
How would an SEO agency be built today? Part 2: Current business model(s) | Sponsored Content: SEOmonitor | September 16, 2020 | Search Engine Land
Back in New York, the slow pace and inward focus of her yoga practice was less fulfilling.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze | Lizzie Crocker | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTStephanie Giorgio, a classical musician, credits The Class for helping her cope with anxiety, focus, fear, and self-doubt.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze | Lizzie Crocker | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThere is a particular focus in the magazine on attacking the United States, which al Qaeda calls a top target.
U.S. Spies See Al Qaeda Fingerprints on Paris Massacre | Shane Harris, Nancy A. Youssef | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd too much of a focus on numbers can obscure strategic truths.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War | Nancy A. Youssef | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTHis wife passed away and they had kids, and he wanted to focus on being a dad so he just stopped to raise his kids.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness | Marlow Stern | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTLessard's high-handed squelching of MacRae had thrown everything out of focus.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairWilliam Weedham brought scowling eyes to focus upon Kip Burland.
It is doubtful if any woman had done as much to entice them to a common focus as the surmounting Mrs. Hofer.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonWhy the focus of the telescope should change during a long exposure is not quite clear.
Photographs of Nebul and Clusters | James Edward KeelerBefore beginning an exposure the focus is adjusted by means of a high-power positive eyepiece.
Photographs of Nebul and Clusters | James Edward Keeler
British Dictionary definitions for focus
/ (ˈfəʊkəs) /
a point of convergence of light or other electromagnetic radiation, particles, sound waves, etc, or a point from which they appear to diverge
another name for focal point (def. 1), focal length
optics the state of an optical image when it is distinct and clearly defined or the state of an instrument producing this image: the picture is in focus; the telescope is out of focus
a point upon which attention, activity, etc, is directed or concentrated
geometry a fixed reference point on the concave side of a conic section, used when defining its eccentricity
the point beneath the earth's surface at which an earthquake or underground nuclear explosion originates: Compare epicentre
pathol the main site of an infection or a localized region of diseased tissue
to bring or come to a focus or into focus
(tr often foll by on) to fix attention (on); concentrate
Origin of focus
1Derived forms of focus
- focusable, adjective
- focuser, noun
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 focus
[ fō′kəs ]
The degree of clarity with which an eye or optical instrument produces an image.
A central point or region, such as the point at which an earthquake starts.
Mathematics A fixed point or one of a pair of fixed points used in generating a curve such as an ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola.
The region of a localized bodily infection or disease.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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