FOCUS | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
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English (US)

Meaning of focus in English

focus
noun
us
/ˈfoʊ.kəs/ uk
/ˈfəʊ.kəs/
plural focuses or formal foci us/ˈfoʊ.saɪ/ uk/ˈfəʊ.saɪ/

focus noun (OF ATTENTION)

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C1 [ C or U ]
the main or central point of something, especially of attention or interest:
focus of attention I think Dave likes to be the focus of attention.
focus of interest The main focus of interest at the fashion show was Christian Lacroix's outrageous evening wear.
focus on The media focus on politicians' private lives inevitably switches the attention away from the real issues.
There was a lot of focus on exam results at my school.
[ U ]
careful attention that is given to something such as a task, or the ability to give your full attention to something:
lose focus In my over-confidence I lost focus and conceded a point.
Performing such a long piece, it's a challenge just to keep your focus.
mental focus Yoga is less about fitness and more about mental focus.
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Importance - general words
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focus noun (SCIENCE)

(in physics) the point where waves of light or sound that are moving toward each other meet:
the focus of a lens
be in/out of focus
used to say that a photograph or video is clear/not clear:
Make sure the image is in focus.
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Physics: optics, microscopy & lasers
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focus
verb
us
/ˈfoʊ.kəs/ uk
/ˈfəʊ.kəs/
-s-

focus verb (CAMERA, EYES, LIGHT, ETC.)

[ I or T ]
If you focus a device such as a camera or microscope, or if it focuses, a device on the lens moves so that you can see a clear picture:
focus something on something She focused her camera on a tiny insect.
The camera is slow to focus in low light.
[ I or T ]
If you focus your eyes, or if your eyes focus, you try to look directly at an object so that you can see it more clearly:
When they first took the bandages off, she/her eyes couldn't focus properly (= she couldn't see clearly).
[ T ]
to direct light waves, sound waves, etc. at a particular point:
focus something on something The human eye has a lens to focus light on the retina.
He designed a transmitter that could focus radio waves of different frequencies on tumors.
be focused on During an ultrasound scan, sound waves are focused on the body and scanned by a computer.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Photography
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focus verb (CONCENTRATE)

[ I ]
to give your full attention to what you are doing or to what is happening:
I'm finding it hard to focus today.
I know it's noisy in here, but try to focus.
Synonym
concentrate
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Paying attention and being careful
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Phrasal verb

focus (something) on someone/something
(Definition of focus from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

focus | Intermediate English

focus
noun
us
/ˈfoʊ·kəs/
plural focuses or foci us/ˈfoʊ·sɑɪ, -kɑɪ/

focus noun (MAIN OBJECT)

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[ C ]
(also focal point)
the main object or interest, or the attention given something:
The focus of attention has shifted from the economy to improving the public schools.
State officials urge continued focus on mosquito control.

focus noun (POSITION)

[ C/U ]   physics
the exact place or position where beams of light, heat, or sound meet after moving toward each other; focal point
[ C/U ]   earth science
A focus is also the exact position inside the earth where an earthquake begins.
in focus (also out of focus)
A photograph or an image seen through a device with a lens, such as a microscope, telescope, or camera, that is in focus is clear and one that is out of focus is not clear.
focus
verb [ I/T ]
us
/ˈfoʊ·kəs/

focus verb [I/T] (DIRECT ATTENTION)

to direct attention toward something or someone:
[ I ] Tonight’s program focuses on homelessness.

focus verb [I/T] (ADJUST)

to adjust something in order to see more clearly:
[ T ] I focused the binoculars on the bird on a branch of the tree.
(Definition of focus from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

focus | Business English

focus
noun [ C ]
uk
/ˈfəʊkəs/ us
plural focuses | formal foci
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[ C ]
the central or most important thing for a company or organization:
the main/primary/principal focus of sb/sth The primary focus of a manager is on efficiency.
turn/switch/shift the focus from sth to sth A bonus-based incentive system shifts the focus from the behavior of sales people to the results they deliver.
focus on sth The company's Five-Year Plan continues the dual focus on use and production.
[ U ]
the act of giving attention to a particular group of customers or a particular activity:
The restructuring was aimed at establishing real customer focus throughout the organization.
[ U ]
the ability to give all your attention, time, and energy to a particular activity:
The enquiry concluded that the failure to address the issue beforehand was the result of a lack of focus and drive by the board.
focus
verb [ I or T ]
uk
/ˈfəʊkəs/ us
-s- or -ss-
to give a lot of attention, time, energy, etc. to one particular group of customers or a particular activity:
focus on sth The company's chief executive is moving to a new corporate headquarters in Dubai to focus on business in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia.
focus attention/efforts/resources on sth We shall continue to focus our efforts on cutting costs.
focus entirely/exclusively/mainly on sth By the age of 30, he had decided to focus almost exclusively on corporate work.
(Definition of focus from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of focus

focus
It's not out of spite really; he's focused on where he's supposed to be going.
From ESPN
I think that so much of our focus has been graduating students who are self-sustaining.
From CBS News
This kind of blindered focus is his happiest, most natural setting.
From WIRED
I think the focus now for many of us is where we're going, what we're going to do with the second half of our lives.
From New York Post
The long-term focus on structural reforms needs to be there.
From CNBC
The focus would be more on the symbol than the words.
From The Atlantic
Instead, they focus on their own vision and learn to believe in themselves.
From Business Insider
Our focus is to be out of business.
From Wired
If we focus on the one prodigal son, we mishear the opening.
From CNN
We were really focused on how to get a business started, how to raise capital, how to find an office.
From ESPN
The participants couldn't remember because they were too focused on their own work.
From Los Angeles Times
Of course, it would have to focus any product on business use-cases.
From VentureBeat
Doing this makes me feel more peaceful, focused and better able to do my work.
From CNN
You also said that you felt that focusing just on feeling good also meant that people with depression or other problems were left out.
From TIME
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with focus

focus

These are words often used in combination with focus.

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attentional focus
The second type of construal important to the argument of this article concerns selection of attentional focus, which makes certain aspects of meanings salient.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
central focus
However, if memorywork is the central focus for the oral history interviewer, then the relationship between interviewer and interviewee needs to be unpacked more carefully.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
dual focus
In fact cultural studies, well-known for its theoretical eclecticism, has inherited its dual focus (formal and political) on representation from these and many other sources.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with focus
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Translations of focus

in Chinese (Traditional)
中心, （尤指注意力或興趣的）中心，焦點, 科學…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
中心, （尤指注意力或兴趣的）中心，焦点, 科学…
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in Spanish
centro, enfocar, centro [masculine]…
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in Portuguese
foco da atenção, enfoque, focar…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Russian
in Telugu
in Arabic
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
लक्षाचे केंद्रक, झोत, एकाग्रता…
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（関心、活動の）中心, 焦点を合わせる, 焦点が合う…
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odaklanmak, bir şeye yoğunlaşmak, bir noktada yoğunlaş(tır)mak…
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centre [masculine] d’intérêt, accent [masculine], (se) concentrer…
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centre, enfocar…
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brandpunt, instellen, concentreren…
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ஏதாவது ஒரு முக்கிய அல்லது மைய புள்ளி, குறிப்பாக கவனம் அல்லது ஆர்வம், ஒரு பணி போன்ற விஷயங்களில் கவனமாக கவனம் செலுத்துதல்…
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(ध्यान या रूचि का) मुख्य या केंद्रीय हिस्सा, (किसी कार्य के प्रति पूरा) ध्यान…
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કેન્દ્ર, કેન્દ્રબિંદુ, એકાગ્રતા…
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fokus, brændpunkt, midtpunkt…
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fokus, brännpunkt, centrum…
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titik pusat, perhatian, memfokuskan…
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der Brennpunkt, der Mittelpunkt, scharf stellen…
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fokus [neuter], fokusere, brennpunkt…
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جس پر بنیادی توجہ ہو, مرکزی نکتہ, کسی کام پر توجہ مرکوز کرنا…
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фокус, центр, фокусувати…
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устанавливать фокус, фокусировать (взгляд), средоточие…
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ఒకదాని యొక్క ప్రధాన లేదా కేంద్ర బిందువు, ముఖ్యంగా శ్రద్ధ లేదా ఆసక్తి, ఒక పని వంటి వాటికి లేదా మీ పూర్తి దృష్టిని ఏదో ఒకదానిపై ఇవ్వగల జాగ్రత్తగా శ్రద్ధ వహించండి…
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مَركَز الاهتِمام, يُعدِل البؤرة…
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কেন্দ্রবিন্দু, মনঃসংযোগ…
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ohnisko, střed, zaostřit…
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titik pusat, fokus, pusat perhatian…
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จุดรวมแสง, จุดสนใจ, ปรับ (ภาพ) ให้เห็นชัดเจน…
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giao điểm, điểm hội tụ, trung tâm…
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nastawiać, dostosować (się), nacisk…
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초점, 초점을 맞추다…
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centro, obiettivo, mettere a fuoco…
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focal point
focal segmental glomerulosclerosis
focally
foci
focus
focus (something) on someone/something
focus group
focus list
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