attention span
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of attention span
First recorded in 1930–35
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.
His limited attention span now pulls him elsewhere.
From Salon • Jun. 19, 2026
“Cinema is more resistant to oblivion, and certainly longer-living than the short-lived attention span that the internet offers, while your urgency reaches places our films cannot,” Wenders said.
From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026
"My feeling is that the flood of nonsense, low-quality content generated using AI might further reduce people's attention span," he says.
From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026
The stock market behaves a lot like a toddler: a short attention span, active imagination and some irrational fears.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026
Duane gathered that Magic didn’t have a long attention span.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
