All 7 Uses of

focus
in
Turtles All the Way Down

Our destiny is coming into focus.
p. 23.7 *

focus = a state where something has come into view or can be seen clearly

My favorite pictures of my dad are the few where he's out of focus—because that's how people are, really, and so I settled on one of those, a picture he'd taken of himself with a friend at a Pacers game, the basketball court behind them, their features blurred.†
p. 119.7

out of focus = in a state where something cannot be seen clearly

I focus only on the mystery, and embrace the belief that solving it is the ultimate Good, that declarative sentences are inherently better than interrogative ones, and in finding the answer despite my madness, I simultaneously find a way to live with the madness.
p. 232.4 *

focus = concentrate, or look

You could only see the artwork by the light of headlamps and flashlights, so the paintings and photographs lining the walls seemed to come in and out of focus.†
p. 261.3

out of focus = in a state where something cannot be seen clearly

The Instagram contained no real pictures, only quotes rendered in typewritery fonts with soft-focused, crumpled-paper backgrounds.†
p. 56.1

Morris's website described his company as "a boutique law firm focusing on the comprehensive needs of high-net-worth individuals."†
p. 61.4

But what fascinates me most, and is the focus of my research, is their molecular evolution rate.†
p. 176.6

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.