focus group

noun

Updated on: 10 Apr 2018

Definition of focus group

: a small group of people whose response to something (such as a new product or a politician's image) is studied to determine the response that can be expected from a larger population

See focus group defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of focus group from the Web

Chuck Ramsey, the principal deputy monitor, said the group has met with the police union and put together a focus group of officers to update them on progress.

— kevin rector, baltimoresun.com, "One year into consent decree, Baltimore Police reforms move forward slowly and behind the scenes," 6 Apr. 2018
Executive producer-slash-showrunner Whitney Cummings said as much earlier this year, revealing the revival's writing team even brought in blue collar focus groups to get to the truth of certain Americans' situation.

— refinery29.com, "The Problem With Becky's Surrogacy Storyline On Roseanne," 28 Mar. 2018
The district is compiling data from the focus groups and will present the information to Magyar.

— bob sandrick, cleveland.com, "Brecksville-Broadview Heights school board opposes arming teachers, will study other security options," 26 Mar. 2018
President Bush said being influenced by street protests would have been like making policy by focus group.

— rick hampson, USA TODAY, "Can March For Our Lives rally avoid the fate of the Millions Mom March?," 22 Mar. 2018
The in-person sessions were purposefully set up as focus groups that require prior registration and are only open to parents and students because the agency wants to protect student privacy, Callahan said.

— alejandra matos, Houston Chronicle, "Want a say in how Texas will fix special education?," 12 Feb. 2018
The picture is starting to look a bit clearer now that the Cedarburg School District's focus groups have come up with themes for its long-range planning efforts.

— alec johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Building capacity, large group spaces, traffic flow and safety among themes Cedarburg Schools should focus on for long-term planning," 26 Jan. 2018
In February, the group will create focus groups that target specific populations.

— yadira sanchez olson, Lake County News-Sun, "Waukegan hosts project aimed at getting new HIV infections to 'functional zero'," 24 Jan. 2018
The new start-up convened focus groups to find out.

— will bunch, Philly.com, "'Race Realism': How Steve Bannon, Cambridge Analytica modernized white supremacy to elect Trump | Will Bunch," 22 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'focus group.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of focus group

1965

FOCUS GROUP Defined for English Language Learners

focus group

noun

Definition of focus group for English Language Learners

: a small group of people whose opinions about something (such as a politician or a new product) are studied to learn the opinions that can be expected from a larger group