I. ˈfōkəs noun
( plural focuses -ōkəsə̇z ; or fo·ci -ōˌsī)
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, fireplace, hearth; perhaps akin to Armenian bosor red, bots flame
1. : a point at which rays (as of light, heat, sound) converge or from which they diverge or appear to diverge ; specifically : the point where the geometrical lines or their prolongations conforming to the rays diverging from or converging toward another point intersect and give rise to an image after reflection by a mirror or refraction by a lens or optical system
2.
a. : focal length
a telescope of twenty-feet focus
b. : adjustment (as of the eye or an eyepiece) for distinct vision
a telescope or microscope comes sharply to focus
c. : the position in which something must be placed (as in relation to a camera lens) for clearness of image or clarity of mental perception
the whole scene was difficult to bring into focus
brought into immediate focus the meaning of the war
d. : the area that may be seen distinctly by the eye or resolved into a clear image by a lens
wide- focus lens camera
3. : one of the points that with the corresponding directrix defines a conic section
conic foci
4. : a localized area of disease or the chief site of a generalized disease or infection
a tuberculous focus in the lungs
5.
[Latin]
archaic : hearth , fireplace
6. : a central point: as
a. : a center of activity or attraction or one drawing the greatest attention and interest
Whitehall … was the focus of political intrigue and of fashionable gaiety — T.B.Macaulay
b. : a point of concentration or of emanation
a happy man or woman is … a radiating focus of goodwill — R.L.Stevenson
c. : one aspect or area of a culture that is more complex and extensively elaborated than others
d. : focal area
7. : the place of origin of an earthquake being a rather indefinite region that approaches nearest to a point in some volcanic earthquakes and nearest to a line or plane in some tectonic earthquakes
8. : the first-formed usually central part of a fish scale
9. : a unit of classification in the Midwestern system for American archaeology constituting a group of components yielding artifacts almost identical in those features determinative of type — see aspect ; compare pattern , phase
Synonyms: see center
•
- in focus
- out of focus
II. verb
( focused also focussed ; focused also focussed ; focusing also focussing ; focuses also focusses )
transitive verb
1.
a. : to bring (as light rays) to a focus : concentrate
b. : to cause (an electron beam especially in a television tube) to converge and give a small bright spot
2. : to cause to be concentrated
the crime focused public attention on the problem of parole
3. : to adjust the focus of (as the eye or a lens)
focusing the glasses on a distant ship
4. : to bring (as an image) into focus
the most clearly focused picture yet available of the American conservative mind at work — Eric Goldman
intransitive verb
1. : to come to a focus : converge
2. : to adjust one's eye or a camera to a certain range
newborn babies cannot focus for several months
III. intransitive verb
: to concentrate attention or effort
she was already focusing on her next role