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Added 9 October 2026

focus

/ˈfəʊ̯.kəs/ noun

In Latin: animadverto Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about focus at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The concentration of attention or energy on something.
the focus of activity shifted to molecular biology
Maximum clarity or distinctness of an image rendered by an optical system.
in focus
Maximum clarity or distinctness of an idea.
the controversy brought clearly into focus an important difference of opinion

verb

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
Bring into focus or alignment; to converge or cause to converge; of ideas or emotions.

Origin

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."

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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