All 6 Uses of

focus
in
The Help

He turns and focuses on me for what, I'm pretty sure, is the first time all night. After several long moments of standing there being looked at, my eyes fill with tears.
Chpt 9 *

focuses = looks

Hour after hour, in Aibileen's kitchen, she reads her writing and I type, the details thickening, the babies' faces sliding into focus.
Chpt 12 *

focus = view (a state where something can be seen clearly)

I focus my eyes, smile at Mae Mobley funning around.
Chpt 15

focus = adjust (to see clearly)

Or did he shake my brain pan loose and I'm over there dead on the ground… I try to focus my eyes.
Chpt 24

I stand up straighter, make myself focus my eyes before this turns into a homicide.
Chpt 24

Definitions:

(1) (focus as in: Turn your focus to question #2.)
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)
(2) (focus as in: The focus of our study is...)
where attention is concentrated or directed
(3) (focus as in: bring into focus; or out of focus)
a state where something has come into view or can be seen clearly; or an adjustment made to permit a clear view
(4) (focus as with technical usage)
technical usage typically involves some sense of center or concentration such as:
- physics — a point where things come together such as the point where light rays meet
- geometry — a fixed reference point (as of a parabola)
- geology — the point of origin of an earthquake
See a comprehensive dictionary for other less common meanings.