focus
[noun]
Synonyms:
- centre, focal point, heart, hub, target
[verb]
Synonyms:
- concentrate, aim, centre, direct, fix, pinpoint, spotlight, zoom in

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Related Idioms: center of attraction (or interest), focus of attention, come to a focus

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. fo‧cus¹ S3 W2 AC /ˈfəʊkəs $ ˈfoʊ-/ verb (past tense and past participle focused or focussed, present participle focusing or focussing)
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: 'hearth (= place for a fire in a house)']

1. GIVE ATTENTION TO SOMETHING [intransitive and transitive] to give special attention to one particular person or thing, or to make people do this Synonym : concentrate
focus on
He needs to focus more on his career.
focus your attention/mind/efforts on something
She tried to focus her mind on her work.
focus (sb’s) mind/attention (on something) (=make people give their attention to something)
We need to focus public attention on this issue.

2. CAMERA/TELESCOPE [intransitive and transitive] to point a camera or telescope at something, and change the controls slightly so that you can see that thing clearly
focus on
She turned the camera and focussed on Martin’s face.
focus something on something
He focused his binoculars on the building opposite.

3. EYES [intransitive and transitive] if your eyes focus, or if you focus your eyes, you look at something and can see it clearly
focus on
All eyes focussed on her.
His eyes were focussed straight ahead.

4. LIGHT [transitive] if you focus beams of light, you aim them onto a particular place

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. focus² S3 W2 AC noun

1. [singular] the thing, person, situation etc that people pay special attention to ⇒ focal:
The focus of recent research has been on environmental issues.
focus of
The war in Afghanistan had become the focus of media attention.
The focus of interest in the series is what goes on in everyday life.
Another focus of feminist debate has been the film industry.
I shall now turn to the main focus of this essay.
Eggs became the focus for the food poisoning scare.
The focus of the conference shifted from population growth to the education of women.

2. [uncountable] if your focus is on something, that is the thing you are giving most attention to
focus on
Our main focus is on helping people get back into work.
a shift of focus

3. come into focus/bring something into focus if something comes into focus, or you bring it into focus, people start to talk about it and pay attention to it:
These issues have recently come into sharp focus (=people have started to talk about them a lot).

4. in focus/out of focus if a photograph or an instrument such as a camera is in focus, you can see the picture clearly. If it is out of focus, you cannot see the picture clearly.

5. [uncountable] the clearness of the picture seen through an instrument such as a camera:
He raised his binoculars and adjusted the focus.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

focus
noun
I. centre of interest/attention
ADJ. central, main, major, primary, prime, principal | important, special | greater, increased | clear, sharp, strong The company's restructuring is designed to give a sharper focus on key growth markets.
narrow I found the focus of the debate too narrow.
VERB + FOCUS act as, give sb/sth, provide (sb/sth with), serve as Cities have always acted as the principal focus of political life.
change, shift At this stage of the trial the defence lawyer often shifts the focus onto the victim.
bring sth into This case has brought the problem of drug abuse in schools into sharp focus.
come into The question of compensation comes into focus.
FOCUS + VERB be on sb/sth Our primary focus this term will be on group work.
shift The focus has now shifted towards the problem of long-term unemployment.
PREP. ~ for She became a focus for all his anger.
~ on an increased focus on younger people
PHRASES a change/shift of focus, the focus of attention He found he was now their main focus of attention.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

focus
II. point/distance at which sth is clearly seen
ADJ. sharp | soft soft focus shots of cuddly animals
VERB + FOCUS come into When I got glasses suddenly the whole world came into focus (= became clear to see).
PREP. in ~ The binoculars were not in focus (= were not showing things clearly).
out of ~ The children's faces are badly out of focus (= not clearly shown) in the photograph.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

focus
verb
I. give attention to sth
ADV. heavily, largely, mainly, particularly, primarily, principally | entirely, exclusively, solely The study focuses exclusively on secondary schools.
increasingly | fully | firmly The attention of the news media was firmly focused on the elections.
specifically | clearly | directly | closely, sharply | narrowly | initially | inevitably He inevitably focused on his own concerns, with only a passing query about Jeff.
traditionally Degree courses have traditionally focused on the established great writers of the past.
VERB + FOCUS need to | try to | decide to | tend to | help (to) Think of some questions that will help focus the discussion.
PREP. on/upon We need to focus upon the main issues.
PHRASES highly/tightly focused The department undertakes highly focused research.
narrowly focused The study was criticized for being too narrowly focused.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

focus
II. direct your eyes towards sth
ADV. automatically
VERB + FOCUS try to She blinked and tried to focus.
PREP. on/upon The eye will automatically focus on the small group in the foreground.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

focus

the main focus
The main focus of our attention will be on providing an efficient service.
the central focus (=most important)
The film’s central focus is the relationship between the two women.
the primary focus (=main or most important)
The economic situation is likely to be the primary focus of the discussion.
become the focus
When you give a talk you become the focus of attention.
provide a focus
The church provided a focus for the community.
change the focus
He changed the focus from general to specific issues.
shift the focus (=move it to something else)
Opposition MPs accused the Prime Minister of trying to shift the focus onto other issues.
the focus changes/shifts
The focus of the negotiations shifted to working conditions.
the focus is on something
The focus is now on improving students’ communication skills.
the focus of attention
In this section of the talk the focus of attention will be on statistics.
a focus of interest
Animal behaviour has long been a focus of interest for scientists.
the focus of debate (=the thing which people are discussing)
The strike became the focus of debate in the media.
the focus of concern (=the thing which people are worried about)
The spread of the disease has become the main focus of concern.
a change/shift in focus
Over the years, there has been a change of focus from treatment to prevention.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲