focus

1 verb focussing, focussed or focused

1 (I, T) to pay special attention to a particular person or thing instead of others

(+ on): Modern medicine has tended to focus too much on developing highly complicated surgical techniques. | focus attention on: The recent wave of bombings has focussed public attention on the region.

2 (T) to change the position of the lens (2) on a camera, telescope 1 etc, so that you can see something clearly : focus sth on: He focused his binoculars on the building opposite.

3 (T) if your eyes focus, or if you focus your eyes, you gradually become able to see something clearly

4 (I, T) if you focus beams of light or if they focus, they pass through a lens and meet at a point

2 noun

1 (singular) the subject or situation that people pay special attention to

(+ of): The focus of the conference shifted from population growth to the education of women. | the focus is on sth: The focus of recent legislation has been on environmental issues. | the focus of attention: The war in Bosnia had now become the focus of worldwide media attention.

2 (U) special attention that is given to one particular subject or situation

(+ on): grammar based teaching, with its focus on accuracy rather than fluency | bring/throw sth into focus (=make people notice something and pay special attention to it): The case has brought the problem of child abuse sharply into focus.

3 in focus/out of focus if a photograph or an instrument such as a telescope 1 is in focus, the edges of the things you are looking at can be seen clearly, if it is out of focus they cannot be seen clearly

4 (C) technical plural foci the point where beams of light or waves of sound meet after their direction has been changed