focus

fo|cus1 [ `foukəs ] (present participle fo|cus|ing or fo|cus|sing; past tense and past participle fo|cused or fo|cussed) verb intransitive or transitive ***

1. ) to concentrate on something and pay particular attention to it:

I know you're tired, but try to focus.

focus on/upon: We will focus upon three main topics.

focus attention on something: Attention has been focused recently on the dangers of nuclear reactors.

focus your mind on something: He found himself struggling to focus his mind on the discussion.

focus solely/entirely/particularly/exclusively on something: Schools should not focus exclusively on standardized test results.

focus efforts/energy on something: Efforts are now focused on cleaning up the beaches.

2. ) to turn a part on a camera, TELESCOPE, MICROSCOPE, etc. until you can see something clearly:

She leaned on a rock, focusing her binoculars.

focus on: The television cameras were focused on the crowd.

3. ) if your eyes focus or you focus your eyes, you look at something carefully until you can start to see it clearly:

It took a while for my eyes to focus in the dim light of the cave.

focus your eyes/gaze on someone/something: Polly focused her gaze on Nathan.

4. ) SCIENCE if a LENS or mirror focuses RAYS of light or they focus, they meet at a particular point

focus

fo|cus 2 [ `foukəs ] noun ***

▸ 1 thing concentrated on

▸ 2 attention paid to something

▸ 3 concentrating on goal

▸ 4 when something is seen clearly

▸ 5 focal point

1. ) singular the thing that people are concentrating on or paying particular attention to:

We seem to agree on which areas need special focus.

focus of: At this point, the focus of the war moved to the Eastern Front.

The main focus of the discussion was the way in which women are portrayed in advertising.

focus for: We have chosen six communities as the focus for our study.

focus of attention: The teaching of basic mathematics has been a particular focus of our attention.

focus of concern: The oil crisis became the focus of Western concern in the early 1970s.

2. ) singular or uncount particular attention paid to something:

focus on: I'd like to see more focus on economic policy.

strong/sharp focus: The school puts a strong focus on academic achievement.

greater focus: The report calls for greater focus on the needs of the poor.

shift/change/move the focus: They are trying to shift the focus more toward domestic policy.

bring/throw something into focus (=make people pay particular attention to it): The issue of pedestrian safety has been brought sharply into focus this week.

3. ) singular or uncount the act of concentrating on a particular goal and not wasting time or energy on other things:

Each course unit has a very clear focus.

I think this marketing campaign has lost its focus.

lack focus: A lot of young adults seem to lack focus in their lives.

4. ) uncount the state of being able to be seen clearly:

in focus (=able to be seen clearly): Some of the photographs aren't quite in focus.

come into focus (=start to be seen clearly): Dad's face gradually came into focus in the viewfinder.

out of focus (=not able to be seen clearly): Some of the shots seemed to be out of focus.

a ) count or uncount the part of a camera, TELESCOPE, MICROSCOPE, etc. that you turn until you can see something clearly

5. ) (plural fo|ci) count SCIENCE a FOCAL POINT