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focus
used in October Sky

3 meanings, 12 uses
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1  —7 uses as in:
Turn your focus to question #2.
Definition
verb: to concentrate, look at, or pay attention to

noun: the act of concentration, or the ability to concentrate

(to concentrate is to direct attention or effort towards a single thing)
  • For the first time, I missed Jim, missed his strength, his ability to focus on nothing but the task at hand.
    Chapter 23 (75% in)
focus = concentrate
Other Uses (with this meaning)
  • The sun beat down on us, the slack yard a caldron of focused heat.
    Chapter 8 (83% in)
    • focused = concentrated
  • Usually, at the beginning of the academic year, the team would be nearing their first game and the school would be focused on them.
    Chapter 10 (3% in)
    • focused = concentrating
  • When he started to talk again, I focused on his every word as if they were gold coins he was dropping into my hand, one by one.
    Chapter 11 (79% in)
    • focused = concentrated
  • I found that I was staring at him, the narrow beam of my lamp focused on his face like a spotlight on an actor.
    Chapter 11 (81% in)
    • focused = pointed
  • Dad focused on one of my model airplanes on my dresser.
    Chapter 13 (96% in)
    • focused = looked
  • A breeze rustled the budding trees above us on the mountainside, but, like everybody else, my focus was entirely on the silent tipple and the frozen winch wheel on the man-hoist.
    Chapter 18 (29% in)
focus = attention
There are no more uses of "focus" flagged with this meaning in October Sky.

Typical Usage  (best examples)
Dictionary / pronunciation — Google®Dictionary / more samples — Oxford® USDictionary list — Onelook.com®
2  —1 use as in:
The focus of our study is...
Definition
where attention is concentrated or directed
  • In a space of a few short weeks, he had shrunk, literally collapsing around his lungs as they became the entire focus of his being.
    Epilogue (59% in)
focus = where attention is concentrated
There are no more uses of "focus" flagged with this meaning in October Sky.

Typical Usage  (best examples)
Dictionary / pronunciation — Google®Dictionary / more samples — Oxford® USDictionary list — Onelook.com®
3  —3 uses as in:
The camera focuses automatically
Definition
to adjust a lens to make an image clear
  • My eyes wouldn't focus, and my mind felt as if it were being sucked down into a whirlpool of red and white swirling blotches.
    Chapter 23 (72% in)
focus = adjust (to see clearly)
Other Uses (with this meaning)
  • I took off my glasses and Jake showed me how to rotate the focus knob.
    Chapter 9 (93% in)
    • focus = lens adjustment
  • I went back to the telescope and tried to use it to look at Coalwood, but discovered I couldn't focus it close enough.
    Chapter 9 (98% in)
focus = adjust a lens for a sharp image
There are no more uses of "focus" flagged with this meaning in October Sky.

Typical Usage  (best examples)
Dictionary / pronunciation — Google®Dictionary / more samples — Oxford® USDictionary list — Onelook.com®
?  —1 use
exact meaning not specified
  • He had kept it, but it was unfocused and watery.
    Chapter 20 (1% in)

There are no more uses of "focus" in October Sky.

Typical Usage  (best examples)
Dictionary / pronunciation — Google®Dictionary list — Onelook.com®