focal

[ foh-kuhl ]

/ ˈfoʊ kəl /

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adjective

of or relating to a focus.

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Origin of focal

From the New Latin word focālis, dating back to 1685–95. See focus, -al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM focal

fo·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby focal

foamy, fob, fob off, FoC, focaccia, focal, focal area, focal infection, focalize, focal length, focal plane

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use focal in a sentence

With wide receiver Michael Thomas on injured reserve through the end of the regular season because of his ankle injury, Kamara is the focal point of the offense.
Alvin Kamara’s six-touchdown greatness gives the Saints another division crown|Mark Maske|December 26, 2020|Washington Post
Spotify has understandably been the focal point for this conversation, all while the company has spent hundreds of millions to bolster its podcast programming.
Music made 2020 better, but we failed to make 2020 better for musicians|Brian Heater|December 25, 2020|TechCrunch
Coach Ron Rivera said the team has worked with Apke on his angles, one of his major focal points since college, and that “he’s done a nice job.”
Washington free safety Deshazor Everett out for the regular season|Sam Fortier|December 17, 2020|Washington Post
We lost six talented, athletic guys that were going to be the focal point of our team.
Big East coaches pick Georgetown to finish last. Patrick Ewing says that’s about right.|Kareem Copeland|October 28, 2020|Washington Post

In those cases it says it will experiment with how such images are presented, aiming to do so in a way that “doesn’t lose the creator’s intended focal point or take away from the integrity of the photo”.
Twitter may let users choose how to crop image previews after bias scrutiny|Natasha Lomas|October 2, 2020|TechCrunch
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|DAILY BEAST
The Lenin statue has now become the focal point of protests for Russia, and against the ‘fascists’ in Kiev.
Is Kharkiv Ukraine’s Next Tipping Point?|Vijai Maheshwari|March 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perry does the opposite, creating worlds in which white people are disposable, interchangeable, and not the assumed focal point.
Tyler Perry’s Madea Minstrel Show|Rawiya Kameir|December 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A moral focal point was Glen Echo Park, a wonderful art-deco playland in Maryland along the Potomac.
Conservatives and the March|Michael Tomasky|August 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
My two eyes haven't quite the same focal length and this often puts me out of the straight with a column of figures.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The observed effect is probably due to the fact that the focal surface is not flat, but curved.
Photographs of Nebul and Clusters|James Edward Keeler
It contains a telescope made by Fitz, whose focal length is seventeen feet, and its object-glass is twelve and a half inches.
The College, the Market, and the Court|Caroline H. Dall
That of M. de Vilette was three feet eleven inches in diameter, and its focal distance was three feet two inches.
The Book of Curiosities|I. Platts
The life-giving activity of the deity in connection with human procreation came to be of focal interest.
Elements of Folk Psychology|Wilhelm Wundt

British Dictionary definitions for focal

focal

/ (ˈfəʊkəl) /

adjective

of or relating to a focus

situated at, passing through, or measured from the focus

Derived forms of focal

focally, adverb

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

focal

Origin of focal

OTHER WORDS FROM focal

Words nearby focal

Words related to focal

How to use focal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for focal

Derived forms of focal