confocal

American  

[kon-foh-kuhl] / kɒnˈfoʊ kəl /

adjective

Mathematics.

1. having the same focus or foci.

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confocal British  

/ kɒnˈfəʊkəl /

adjective

1. having a common focus or common foci

   confocal ellipses

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Etymology

Origin of confocal

First recorded in 1865–70; con- + focal

Example Sentences

It is blocking out the light so she can work at a highly-sensitive confocal microscope that uses lasers to illuminate brain samples.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025

So, they used confocal microscopy at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, a DOE Office of Science user facility at Brookhaven Lab, to confirm that this was the case.

From Science Daily • May 17, 2024

The team also used confocal microscopy, a technique that allows for higher resolution images of certain sections of the artifacts.

From Washington Post • Dec. 13, 2019

Point-scanning confocal microscopes produce sharp images of subcellular structures by scanning a tightly focused laser beam across a sample, exciting fluorescence in the sample pixel by pixel.

From Nature • Nov. 25, 2019

Two ellipsoids in which the principal sections lie in the same planes, and have the same foci, are called confocal.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 2: Ebert to Estremadura by Various