2 meanings, 26 uses
(click/touch triangles for details)
1 —14 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)
noun: the act of concentration, or the ability to concentrate
(to concentrate is to direct attention or effort towards a single thing)
- His father had delivered his own twins in the middle of an unexpected storm, following the steps he knew by heart, keeping his focus on the pulse and heart rate of the woman on the table, the taut skin, the crowning head.p. 399.5
focus = concentration
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- Every few minutes she braced one hand against the dashboard again and focused her breathing, which made him swallow and glance sideways at her, more nervous on that night than he could ever remember being.p. 11.7
- He closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus on his task.p. 13.8
- He had delivered five babies during medical school, all live births and all successful, and he focused now on those, seeking in his memory the details of care.p. 14.9
- To the doctor, focused on what was immediately before him, she became not just herself but more than herself; a body like other bodies, a patient whose needs he must meet with every technical skill he had.p. 15.1
- I should focus on the baby I have.p. 48.5
- Her fault, if he'd been lost or hurt, because she'd been so focused on Phoebe, who'd reached for weeks now and had still not learned to grasp.p. 101.6
- Let me take your picture, David had called, insistent, and she'd turned to find him, kneeling, focusing, intent on preserving a moment that never really existed.p. 134.2
- It worked, as it always worked in the operating room, to focus his attention.p. 195.6
- "Let's stay focused here," David said at last.p. 200.6
- He remembered his father's hands, so focused and so gentle as he set the bones, and coming home again, into the bright golden light of the afternoon.p. 285.2
- "I'm focusing on Paul right now," she said, and then, sharply, she added, "Look, Sam, I've had it, actually."p. 294.4
- It wasn't anger, strangely, but fear that rose up next, some old apprehension born of the pressure his father had focused on him as the only child.p. 381.1
- Her gestures were not fast, but they were efficient and focused.p. 390.5
There are no more uses of "focus" flagged with this meaning in The Memory Keeper’s Daughter.
Typical Usage
(best examples)
2 —4 uses as in:
The camera focuses automatically
Definition
to adjust a lens to make an image clear
- David must have been testing the range of his camera, keeping the subject the same and varying the focus, the aperture, the available light.p. 363.8
focus = lens adjustment
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- She looked through the viewfinder, framing the ruined table again, then turned two different dials to find the focus.p. 83.5
- He paused before Kay's tulips, focusing in close, thinking how much they really did resemble the delicate tissue of lungs and how interesting it would be to frame shots of both and stand them next to each other, exploring this idea he had that the body was, in some mysterious way, a perfect mirror of the world.p. 149.4
- David had moved through the world, focusing his camera on its smallest details, obsessed with light and shadow, trying to fix things in place.p. 334.4
There are no more uses of "focus" flagged with this meaning in The Memory Keeper’s Daughter.
Typical Usage
(best examples)
? —8 uses
exact meaning not specified
- She caught the woman's gaze and focused on her wide-set eyes, so blue, and then she knew.p. 366.3
- Dr. Henry, working with such calm skill, his movements focused and precise.p. 22.5
- She seemed steady, competent, focused, and kind.p. 125.6
- Her face was set, resolute, focused and determined like Paul when he played music, setting himself against David's world and seeking another place.p. 273.1
- Bree was speaking crisply now, focused and determined, as if she were giving an overview of accounts receivable.p. 298.3
- She was young, just twenty-two, but she was tough and focused, carrying herself with the assurance of a woman years older.p. 313.1
- Her movements were deft and focused.p. 316.5
- Paul was standing up, waving across the park, the sadness on his face giving way to a joyous smile, intense, clearly focused, and exclusive.p. 334.5
There are no more uses of "focus" in The Memory Keeper’s Daughter.
Typical Usage
(best examples)