focus
noun
a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity.
had been focusing
-
past perfect progressiveof focus.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
As a result, the company had been focusing on improving profits by keeping down costs—including wages—while sales stagnated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
A hit came back identifying one of those make and models belonging to Heuermann, who lived in a neighborhood police had been focusing on because of cellphone location data and call records, authorities said.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
Marta, who has been working at Inditex for 15 years, had been focusing on brand image and fashion at Zara, the business which contributes 70% of Inditex's revenues.
From Reuters ● Dec. 13, 2021
Ilham Gassar, a political advisor to the UN mission in Somalia, says international partners had been focusing on destroying al-Shabab, not developing a strong state.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2021
Mom started to understand that she had been focusing on what other people might think of her new baby.
From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge
