1
as in center
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
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2
as in compass
a guiding or motivating purpose or principle
a wildlife conservation organization that seems to have lost its focus
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as in to concentrate
to fix (as one's attention) steadily toward a central objective
try to focus your attention on the task at hand
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of focus
Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 10 May 2025
The focus will be on who held the power in the relationship.
—Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 10 May 2025
Russell Shaw, The Atlantic, 12 May 2025
On Monday evening, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to rule out the possibility of discussions on the water treaty, saying any talks with Pakistan would focus only on Kashmir and terrorism.
—Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for focus
Noun
The White House said President Donald Trump fired the first Black woman to run the Library of Congress over his concerns about her focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 10 May 2025
The focus will be on who held the power in the relationship.
—Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 10 May 2025
Verb
Her academic load is significant, and at various times, my wife and I have discussed with her the idea of scaling back her work to focus on school.
—Russell Shaw, The Atlantic, 12 May 2025
On Monday evening, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to rule out the possibility of discussions on the water treaty, saying any talks with Pakistan would focus only on Kashmir and terrorism.
—Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for focus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for focus
Noun
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Installing new modern hardware and software for all air traffic facilities to create a common platform system throughout towers, TRACONs and centers.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
9 May 2025
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The pair’s latest dispute centers on deep disagreements over whether to focus on slashing property taxes or sales taxes.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
8 May 2025
Noun
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Inside a self care mindset, taking a pause to find your own inner compass is the key to navigating the future of work.—
Chris Westfall,
Forbes.com,
7 May 2025
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And he’s got a really good compass of what needs to happen in the moment.—
Justin Curto,
Vulture,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
What Smart Investors Should Watch Investors who prioritize signals over noise should concentrate on pressure points instead of headlines.—
Jim Osman,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
-
Solar thermal setups capture the Sun's heat rather than its light, use reflectors to concentrate sunlight onto a receiver, and convert solar radiation directly into heat energy.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
18 May 2025
Noun
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The surrounding Granary District, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Salt Lake, was once an industrial and manufacturing hub.—
Carley Thornell,
Travel + Leisure,
11 May 2025
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Indeed, ad commitments to streaming video hubs rose a noticeable 35.3%, hiking to $11.1 billion from $8.2 billion in 2023’s market.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
11 May 2025
Noun
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Navigators calculate their position by keeping track of their starting point, direction, speed and time at sea.—
The Conversation,
The Conversation,
14 May 2025
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These aneurysms tend to develop in areas where blood vessels branch off in two directions.—
Angelica Bottaro,
Verywell Health,
14 May 2025
Noun
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The home is in the central part of the state about 70 miles west of Lincoln, the state capital.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
13 May 2025
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The fixture list added further intrigue to that race, Atalanta facing Roma on Monday evening while Juve headed to the Italian capital on Saturday evening to take on a Lazio side that was on a six-game unbeaten run.—
Adam Digby,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
Noun
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His purpose was to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the genocide and advocate for the release of 23 hostages detained in Azerbaijan.—
Ralphie Aversa,
USA Today,
10 May 2025
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The screen served different purposes at different junctures.—
Andre Gee,
Rolling Stone,
9 May 2025
Noun
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Indianapolis is better known as a Midwest motorsports mecca and basketball bastion than a city built for golf sickos.—
Mike Dojc,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
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The Shoppes at Buckland Hills, which spawned the growth of a retail mecca in Manchester and neighboring South Windsor in the 1990s, rose to become the second largest taxpayer in the municipality.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Focus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/focus. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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