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focus
[foh-kuhs]
noun
plural
focuses ,plural
focusses, foci .a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity.
The need to prevent a nuclear war became the focus of all diplomatic efforts.
Synonyms: , , ,close attention or concentration.
Some of the warning signs indicating you should pull over: drifting between lanes, repeated yawning, tailgating, and trouble maintaining focus.
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.
Physics.a point at which rays of light, heat, or other radiation meet after being refracted or reflected.
Optics.
the focal point of a lens, on which rays converge or from which they deviate.
the focal length of a lens; the distance from a focal point to a corresponding principal plane.
the clear and sharply defined condition of an image.
the position of a viewed object or the adjustment of an optical device necessary to produce a clear image.
in focus; out of focus.
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.
Geology.the point of origin of an earthquake.
Pathology.the primary center from which a disease develops or in which it localizes.
verb (used with object)
to bring to a focus or into focus; cause to converge on a perceived point.
to focus the lens of a camera.
to concentrate.
to focus one's thoughts;
to focus troop deployment in the east.
verb (used without object)
to be or become focused.
My eyes have trouble focusing on distant objects.
to direct one's attention or efforts.
Students must focus in class.
focus
/ ˈəʊə /
noun
a point of convergence of light or other electromagnetic radiation, particles, sound waves, etc, or a point from which they appear to diverge
another name for focal point focal length
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
a point upon which attention, activity, etc, is directed or concentrated
geometry a fixed reference point on the concave side of a conic section, used when defining its eccentricity
the point beneath the earth's surface at which an earthquake or underground nuclear explosion originates Compare epicentre
pathol the main site of an infection or a localized region of diseased tissue
verb
to bring or come to a focus or into focus
to fix attention (on); concentrate
focus
The degree of clarity with which an eye or optical instrument produces an image.
See focal point
A central point or region, such as the point at which an earthquake starts.
MathematicsA fixed point or one of a pair of fixed points used in generating a curve such as an ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola.
The region of a localized bodily infection or disease.
Other 51Թ Forms
- focusable adjective
- focuser noun
- misfocus verb
- misfocused adjective
- misfocussed adjective
- overfocus verb (used with object)
- refocus verb
- self-focused adjective
- self-focusing adjective
- unfocusing adjective
- well-focused adjective
- ˈڴdzܲ noun
- ˈڴdzܲ adjective
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of focus1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of focus1
Example Sentences
Talks will focus on North Atlantic and Arctic security as well as climate change, economic development and critical minerals, before Macron continues to the G7 summit in Canada.
Wealthy people employed "thief takers" to guard their property, whilst ordinary folk had to make do with volunteer watchmen, who focused on the more basic task of keeping order.
"So we had to focus more on working with the witnesses we had."
The Oakmont course has proved to be a challenge for the entire field and, although McIlroy has been happy with some aspects of his game, retaining focus has been an issue at times.
If you have not heard of it, "skinnytok" is a controversial side of social media where people promote weight loss tips focused on restrictive eating with the aim of being "skinny".
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When To Use
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.
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