confocal

American

[kon-foh-kuhl] / kɒnˈfoʊ kəl /

adjective

Mathematics.

having the same focus or foci.

confocal British

/ kɒnˈfəʊkəl /

adjective

having a common focus or common foci

confocal ellipses

"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

Etymology

Origin of confocal

First recorded in 1865–70; con- + focal

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Live Confocal Microscopy This laser-based imaging method produces sharp, three-dimensional images of living plant cells without cutting into the tissue.

From Science Daily • Jan. 7, 2026

Confocal scanning also provides a sizeable increase in signal and range when imaging retroreflective objects.

From Nature • Mar. 4, 2018

Confocal immunofluorescence pictures were taken with a Leica SP5 confocal microscope and 3–5-μm-thick optical sections were collected.

From Nature • Sep. 19, 2017

Immunofluorescence slides were imaged with a Nikon A1R Confocal Laser Microscope and quantified with ImageJ.

From Nature • Mar. 19, 2017

Confocal microscopy enhances images over conventional optical microscopy, especially for thicker specimens, and so has become quite popular.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023