focus

focus

noun

Definition of FOCUS

1

a thing or place that is of greatest importance to an activity or interest <in the 19th century Paris was the focus of the art world>

Synonyms axis, base, capital, central, core, cynosure, epicenter, eye, focus, ground zero, heart, hub, locus, mecca, navel, nerve center, nexus, nucleus, omphalos, seat

Related Words headquarters; happy hunting ground, hive, hotbed, hot spot, playground, playland; kernel, nub, pith; deep, thick; essence, quintessence, soul; attraction, lodestone (also loadstone), magnet, polestar

2

a guiding or motivating purpose or principle <a wildlife conservation organization that seems to have lost its focus>

Synonyms cynosure, direction, focus, lodestar (also loadstar), polestar

Related Words benchmark, criterion, grade, mark, measure, par, standard, touchstone, yardstick; aim, ambition, aspiration, dream, goal, intention, object, objective, purpose, target