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# focus

«focus» in Mova's school dictionary: **to give all your attention to one thing** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (focus, focuses / focusses, focused / focussed, focusing / focussing); noun (a focus, focuses / foci)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To focus means to give all your attention to one thing. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#m1)

2) The focus is the main thing people are paying attention to. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#m2)

3) To focus a camera, eyes or a lens means to adjust it so you see clearly and sharply. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#m3)

4) In focus means clear and sharp; out of focus means blurry. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#m4)

5) In science, the focus is the point where rays of light meet after passing through a lens. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In school: «focus on your work», a lesson's «focus», «stay focused»; focusing is easier when you have had sleep, food and few distractions. In science: lenses, magnifying glasses and eyes focus light; the eye's lens changes shape to focus. Safety: a magnifying glass can focus sunlight into a spot hot enough to start a fire. Phrases: «focus on», «stay focused», «lose focus», «in focus», «out of focus», «the focus of».

### examples

- Focus on the question before you answer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#x1)
- Turn off the TV so you can focus on your homework. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#x2)
- The photo is out of focus. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#x3)
- Turn the knob to focus the microscope. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#x4)
- The focus of today's lesson is fractions. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#x5)
- A magnifying glass can focus sunlight and burn paper. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#x6)
- She stayed focused for the whole test. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#x7)
- My eyes took a moment to focus in the dark. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/#x8)

### note

Both «focused» and «focussed» are correct; «focused» is more common. Used with «on»: «focus on the task». Plural noun: «focuses» or, in science, «foci».

### In the corpora

- [Focused practice means practising with full attention on one goal; watching the clock while repeating easy parts changes very little.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/3-practising-when-you-would-rather-not/6/)
- [Staying calm helps you think; panic does not sharpen your focus.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/51-sats-the-reading-paper/15/)
- [Looking at something far away lets the focusing muscles of the eyes relax.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/8-posture-and-screens/13/)
- [Attention is limited: the brain cannot focus fully on two demanding things at the same time.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/11-eyes-up/6/)
- [A magnifying glass in sunshine focuses heat that burns insects, so it is never used on living things.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/71-wild-animals-zoos-and-kindness/14/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «focus» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/focus/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.