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What’s the Plural of Focus?

Focuses is now much more commonly used as the plural of focus. Foci is also correct.



What’s the plural of “focus”?

The plural of focus is focuses or foci.

What’s the singular of focus?

Focus is singular. Focuses or foci is plural.

What does the word focus mean?

The noun and word focus is described in the dictionary as “a center of activity, attraction, or attention: the focus of the meeting was drug abuse. Put immigration into focus as a hot topic for commentators.”

Other Latin nouns in English


singularplural
focusfocuses or foci
octopusoctopi (or octopuses)
radiusradi (or radiuses)
fungusfungi (or funguses)
alumnusalumni (or almunuses)
syllabussyllabi (or syllabuses)
Latin nouns ending in –us/-i. Chart by Grammarflex.



“Focus”, used in sentences

1. His life lacks a focus.

2. Get the binoculars in focus.

3. I wasn’t able to focus the camera.

4. She has an amazing ability to focus for hours at a time.

5. He’s successful, but he feels that his life lacks focus.

“Focuses”/”foci”, used in sentences

1. The menu changes quarterly and focuses on food from coastal regions worldwide.

2. He focuses on Enron which was the real biggie.

3. Charles Manson’s “family” were the foci of many murder investigations.

4. The excitable foci of the cerebral cortex are well myelinated long before the unexcitable are so.

5. The foci of the paper were the many reasons why people came to the U.S. and the ways they immigrated.

Origin of the word focus

From etymology online on focus (n.):

1640s, “point of convergence,” from Latin focus “hearth, fireplace” (also, figuratively, “home, family”), which is of unknown origin.

What’re personal pronouns?

What’s the difference between they’re, their, and there?

Whose vs who’s?

Sources

  1. Definition of focus.
  2. Sentences using focus.
  3. Origin of focus.

 

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