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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

focus.

A point at which reflected or refracted rays of light converge.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈfəʊ̯.kəs/Received-Pronunciation/ˈfoʊ̯.kəs/Canadian, General-American, Standard/ˈfəʉ.kəs/Australia, New-Zealand
  1. A point at which reflected or refracted rays of light converge.

    countable
    The heat of sunlight at the focus of a magnifying glass can easily set dry leaves on fire.
  2. A point of a conic at which rays reflected from a curve or surface converge.

    countable
  3. The fact of the convergence of light on the photographic medium.

    uncountable
    Unfortunately, the license plate is out of focus in this image.
  4. The quality of the convergence of light on the photographic medium.

    uncountable
    During this scene, the boy’s face shifts subtly from soft focus into sharp focus.
  5. Concentration of attention.

    uncountable
    I believe I can bring the high degree of focus required for this important job.
  6. Something to which activity, attention or interest is primarily directed.

    countable
    My studies are my main focus right now.
  7. The exact point of where an earthquake occurs, in three dimensions (underneath the epicentre).

    countable
    The earthquake's focus was at exactly 37 degrees north, 18 degrees south, seventy five meters below the ground.
  8. The status of being the currently active element in a user interface, often indicated by a visual highlight.

    countable · uncountable
    Text entered at the keyboard or pasted from a clipboard is sent to the component which currently has the focus.
  9. The most important word or phrase in a sentence or passage, or the one that imparts information.

    countable · uncountable
  10. An object used in casting a magic spell.

    countable · uncountable
  11. The centre of an older fish's scale, which is the point where a younger fish's scale starts to grow from.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Latin focus (“hearth, fireplace”); see there for more. Related to fuel. Kepler introduced the term into mathematics and the sciences in describing elliptical orbits of planets (quote from Nicholas Mee): "One of the interesting properties of an ellipse is that if there were a light bulb at one focus, then all the light that it emits would reflect off the ellipse and converge at the other focus. This is why Kepler originally used the name focus for these points."

verb/ˈfəʊ̯.kəs/Received-Pronunciation/ˈfoʊ̯.kəs/Canadian, General-American, Standard/ˈfəʉ.kəs/Australia, New-Zealand
  1. To cause (rays of light, etc) to converge at a single point.

    transitive
  2. To adjust (a lens, an optical instrument) in order to position an image with respect to the focal plane.

    transitive
    You'll need to focus the microscope carefully in order to capture the full detail of this surface.
  3. To adjust itself or be adjusted such that light from a scene converges appropriately to create a clear image.

    intransitive · usually
    I can't get the lens to focus.
    The camera focuses automatically on the subject's eyes.
  4. To direct attention, effort, or energy to a particular audience or task.

    transitive
    The president focused her remarks on the newcomers.
  5. To concentrate one’s attention.

    intransitive
    If you're going to beat your competitors, you need to focus.
  6. To concentrate one's attention on something; to have as one's central point of interest, concern, etc.

    intransitive
    I have to focus on my work.
  7. To transfer the input focus to (a visual element), so that it receives subsequent input.

    transitive
    The text box won't receive the user's keystrokes unless you explicitly focus it.
  8. To aggregate figures of accounts.

Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Latin focus (“hearth, fireplace”); see there for more. Related to fuel. Kepler introduced the term into mathematics and the sciences in describing elliptical orbits of planets (quote from Nicholas Mee): "One of the interesting properties of an ellipse is that if there were a light bulb at one focus, then all the light that it emits would reflect off the ellipse and converge at the other focus. This is why Kepler originally used the name focus for these points."

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.