focus*/

[ˈfəʊkəs] (present participle focusing focussing; past tense and past participle focused focussed) verb [I/T] I

if your eyes focus, or if you focus your eyes, you look at something carefully until you start to see it clearly

It took a while for my eyes to focus in the dim light of the cave.[/ex]

•

- focus on sth

- focus sth on sth

II

noun

focus */[ˈfəʊkəs]

1) [singular] the thing that people are concentrating on or paying particular attention to

The oil crisis became the focus of Western concern in the early 1970s.[/ex]

We have chosen six communities as the focus for our study.[/ex]

2) [singular/U] particular attention that people pay to something

The report calls for greater focus on the needs of the poor.[/ex]

3) [singular/U] the act of concentrating on a particular aim

All the lessons have a very clear focus.[/ex]

I think this campaign has lost its focus.[/ex]

•

in focus — able to be seen clearly[/ex]

out of focus — unable to be seen clearly[/ex]

Some of these photographs are out of focus.[/ex]