focus
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The concentration of attention or energy on something.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fohkuhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈfoʊkəs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The concentration of attention or energy on something
“The focus of activity shifted to molecular biology.”
countable
Something to which activity, attention or interest is primarily directed.
A point of convergence of light (or other radiation) or a point from which it diverges
An object used in casting a magic spell.
verb
transitive
To direct attention, effort, or energy to a particular audience or task.
Direct one's attention on something
“Please focus on your studies and not on your hobbies.”
Cause to converge on or toward a central point
“Focus the light on this image.”
transitive
To cause (rays of light, etc) to converge at a single point.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The concentration of attention or energy on something
Used this way, focus is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The focus of activity shifted to molecular biology.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “focus of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: focus of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Concentrationnoun
“The focus of activity shifted to molecular biology.”
Directverb
“Please focus on your studies and not on your hobbies.”
Causeverb
“Focus the light on this image.”
More ways to use focus
- “Please focus on your studies and not on your hobbies.”verb
- “The focus of activity shifted to molecular biology.”noun
- “The controversy brought clearly into focus an important difference of opinion.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Being in focus or brought into focus.
The concentration of attention or energy on something.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Being in focus or brought into focus.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to direct attention or effort
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.