focus
Americannoun
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focuses,
plural
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focusses,
plural (especially British)
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foci
plural (especially British)
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a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity.
The need to prevent a nuclear war became the focus of all diplomatic efforts.
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close attention or concentration.
Some of the warning signs indicating you should pull over: drifting between lanes, repeated yawning, tailgating, and trouble maintaining focus.
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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.
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Physics. a point at which rays of light, heat, or other radiation meet after being refracted or reflected.
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Optics.
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the focal point of a lens, on which rays converge or from which they deviate.
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the focal length of a lens; the distance from a focal point to a corresponding principal plane.
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the clear and sharply defined condition of an image.
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the position of a viewed object or the adjustment of an optical device necessary to produce a clear image.
in focus; out of focus.
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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.
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Geology. the point of origin of an earthquake.
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Pathology. the primary center from which a disease develops or in which it localizes.
verb (used with object)
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focuses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
focused,
past participle, past
-
focussed,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
focusing,
present participle
-
focussing
present participle (especially British)
-
to bring to a focus or into focus; cause to converge on a perceived point.
to focus the lens of a camera.
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to concentrate.
to focus one's thoughts;
to focus troop deployment in the east.
verb (used without object)
-
focuses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
focused,
past participle, past
-
focussed,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
focusing,
present participle
-
focussing
present participle (especially British)
-
to be or become focused.
My eyes have trouble focusing on distant objects.
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to direct one's attention or efforts.
Students must focus in class.
noun
-
a point of convergence of light or other electromagnetic radiation, particles, sound waves, etc, or a point from which they appear to diverge
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another name for focal point focal length
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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
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a point upon which attention, activity, etc, is directed or concentrated
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geometry a fixed reference point on the concave side of a conic section, used when defining its eccentricity
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the point beneath the earth's surface at which an earthquake or underground nuclear explosion originates Compare epicentre
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pathol the main site of an infection or a localized region of diseased tissue
verb
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to bring or come to a focus or into focus
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to fix attention (on); concentrate
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The degree of clarity with which an eye or optical instrument produces an image.
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See focal point
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A central point or region, such as the point at which an earthquake starts.
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Mathematics A fixed point or one of a pair of fixed points used in generating a curve such as an ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola.
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The region of a localized bodily infection or disease.
Usage
Where does focus come from? What does the word focus bring to your mind? Maybe you think of a photograph that is clear and sharply defined. Or perhaps you recall a teacher tsk-tsking you to pay attention in class. But what about a fireplace?Well, the word focus comes directly from the Latin focus, which meant “fireplace” or “hearth” (that is, the floor of a fireplace). This is what focus originally meant in English when the word entered the language around 1635–45, though that sense has been extinguished, as it were. But the word focus burned on in other ways. As the 1600s unfolded, focus was given new meanings in the great scientific literature of that age, which were largely written in what’s known as New Latin. In the 1650s, the influential English philosopher and author Thomas Hobbes used focus for a kind of fixed point in geometry. So did Isaac Newton—you know, of gravity fame—in the 1690s. Other applications of the word focus in the late 1600s came about in the fields of medicine and physics. In physics, a focus is “a point at which rays of light, heat, or other radiation meet after being refracted or reflected.” Perhaps you can imagine how a fireplace or a hearth—contained areas and sources of heat and light—was likened to such a point in math and science. Dig deeperThe word focus took on a number of senses in optics, specifically “the point on a lens on which rays converge or from which they deviate.” A more familiar sense of focus is “the clear and sharply defined condition of an image,” as when the image isn’t blurry. Optics has also given us the expressions in focus and out of focus, which can be used both literally and figuratively. From these various ideas of clarity and convergence in optics arises one of the more common, everyday ways we use the word focus today: “a central point, as a of attention, activity, or activity.” For example, Finding a cure for cancer was the focus of his long career. Focus also refers to ability to concentrate, as in The teacher felt the students struggled with their focus. These senses of focus had spread by the early 1800s, around when various verb forms of focus take off. The adjective form of focus is focal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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focusernoun
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misfocusverb
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refocusverb
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overfocusverb (used with object)
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focusableadjective
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misfocusedadjective
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misfocussedadjective
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self-focusedadjective
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self-focusingadjective
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unfocusingadjective
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well-focusedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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focussimple
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focusessimple
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have focusedperfect
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have focussedperfect
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has focusedperfect
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has focussedperfect
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am focusingprogressive
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am focussingprogressive
-
are focusingprogressive
-
are focussingprogressive
-
is focusingprogressive
-
is focussingprogressive
-
have been focusingperfect progressive
-
have been focussingperfect progressive
-
has been focusingperfect progressive
-
has been focussingperfect progressive
Past
-
focusedsimple
-
focussedsimple
-
had focusedperfect
-
had focussedperfect
-
was focusingprogressive
-
was focussingprogressive
-
were focusingprogressive
-
were focussingprogressive
-
had been focusingperfect progressive
-
had been focussingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of focus
First recorded in 1635–45; Latin: “fireplace, hearth”
Explanation
Focus is something that camera lenses and sleepy students are always being asked to do. For cameras, it means finding a point where the subject is clear or "in focus." For students, it means paying attention. Focus is all about finding a center — of a parabolic curve, of a lens, of a meditative state. In Latin, focus meant 'domestic hearth,' which just goes to show that not much has changed — since kitchens remain the focus of the modern home. Focus can be used as a verb, as in "I need to focus on my work, so I can play video games later;" and as a noun, as in "What is the focus of this essay? I can't tell, since the writer seems to be all over the place."
Vocabulary lists containing focus
The SAT: Language of the Test, List 2
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The Language of Standardized Tests, List 1
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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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.
See Examples For:
It will be a defence-first programme, the European Commission says, with a focus on governments, military and emergency services.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
The company had said before this month’s death that ride reliability to ensure they don’t break down was a focus of its efforts to improve operations and boost profit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
But Trimble’s board can find itself at odds over whether to focus on AI’s ability to cut costs or contribute to revenue growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
“All I can do right now is focus on taking care of myself and my children, one day at a time,” Hila said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
I focus on myself, feel my adrenaline surge.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
The fasting mice had better blood values, less fatty liver and liver inflammation and above all: they developed less liver cancer and had fewer cancer foci in the liver.
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2024
One of the foci will be located at the origin.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021
The center must be the midpoint of the line segment joining the foci.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021
The line through the foci is called the transverse axis.
From Textbooks ● Sep. 23, 2020
Even therapeutic measures have the important result not only of curing the patient but of reducing the foci of infection.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
His work focuses on adapting medical care to the characteristics of individual patients instead of assuming that everyone will respond to the same treatment.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Common Interest, a three-year-old communications group that focuses on culture and entertainment, has expanded its portfolio again with the acquisition of a minority stake in Los Angeles creative agency Mirimar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Logging, hunting and cross-border trade are the focuses there -- but these days, so is politics and the price of fuel.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
The paper focuses on a "bombshell" interview Prince Harry gave GQ magazine, where he said he hoped for reconciliation with his family.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
He turns his head and focuses a bright eye on me.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
"The metallic tip acts like an antenna and focusses the electromagnetic field in a tiny area below its apex."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2024
“This shocking news focusses our minds on Michael’s wife Clare and their sons,” said Roy Taylor, a professor of medicine and metabolism at Newcastle University who co-authored “The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet” with Mosley.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 7, 2024
This latest research focusses on how this happens at the structural level.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2023
When it comes to providing more housing the document focusses again on reform, this time of the planning system.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2023
Raffles, however, following the chronicles, focusses the overthrow of the Hindu supremacy in the capture of the city of Majapahit in 1478 A.D.
From A Visit to Java With an Account of the Founding of Singapore by W. Basil (William Basil) Worsfold
In an effort to fill the gap, businesses have focused their advertising efforts on the domestic market.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
McKinney has focused his campaign on lessening the city’s homelessness crisis by leveraging people into treatment, tackling quality-of-life crimes, and reducing the city’s out-of-control legal costs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Weissenborn and Hennig are already conducting additional experiments focused on highly radioactive transuranic phases found in the remaining debris.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
“Nobody believed that would happen,” says Jacopo Buongiorno, a professor focused on nuclear energy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
And if it was this bad to the east, how terrible must it be to the north, where the landslide and blast had been focused?
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
But that didn't stop its shares from surging nearly 10 percent on Thursday, as investors focussed on its profit outlook.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Pushing through this is definitely not easy, England stayed focussed, they stayed in the zone, a huge shout out to them because that's not an easy one.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Across Caracas and La Guaira, many were focussed instead on Sunday services in churches to remember those lost and still missing.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
"We're currently focussed on the Grand Final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, with 25 incredible songs and artists from across Europe and Australia competing," they said.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
“Partly on his interest being focussed on what he calls ‘the soul,’ which he persists in regarding as an entity independent of the physical environment, whereas, as I tried to point out to him ...”
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
"I became obsessed with trying to do longer and longer distances," he said, "then I started focusing on times."
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
It’s unclear who will step in while the guitarist is focusing on his health, but Noodles appears confident the band has it covered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Fixing the RealReal’s model meant focusing on the unit economics of the complicated business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
By focusing on movements that support everyday activities, a few minutes of daily effort may help older adults maintain strength, mobility, and independence.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 21, 2026
When I find myself focusing on him, I change my focus to something else ASAP.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
"I think there's a lot of things to say about where we're focussing our attention and where we're putting our money."
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
It has been promoted as a means of bringing people together in the shared story of their traumatic past, with "reparations" quite literally focussing on "repair" at a very human level.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
As chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, he criticised the scheme for focussing on "process rather than outcomes".
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
Dr Becks Fisher said, of the Nuffield Trust think tank, said the service will be helpful for some and focussing on menopause and menstrual health "makes sense" given the long waits for gynaecology services.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
Occasionally, focussing on a linguistic alteration can mislead us into thinking that something important has happened when it hasn’t, or that something happened at a particular moment when it actually happened earlier.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
