Focussed

How to spell focussed

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce focussed

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does focussed mean?

1. verbDirected attention, effort, or a lens onto a particular point or subject (past tense).
2. adjectiveShowing concentrated attention, with effort directed clearly at one goal.

Focussed in a sentence

• verb

  She focussed the camera carefully before taking the portrait.

• adjective

  A focussed student tends to finish the assignment well ahead of time.

• verb

  The whole team focussed their energy on meeting the deadline.

• adjective

  The report was clear, concise, and focussed throughout.

Where does focussed come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on 'focus', which came directly from the Latin focus, meaning 'hearth' or 'fireplace', the spot at the centre of a Roman home where the fire burned. In the 1600s scientists, notably the astronomer Johannes Kepler, borrowed the Latin term for the point at which rays of light converge, picturing it as a kind of burning point, much as a hearth concentrates heat. From that optical use the verb 'to focus' developed, meaning to bring rays to a sharp point, and by extension to concentrate attention or effort. The form 'focussed' reflects the older British habit of doubling the single final consonant of 'focus' before adding '-ed', which is why writers hesitate between one s and two. The single-s 'focused' has become the dominant modern spelling on both sides of the Atlantic, but 'focussed' remains an accepted British variant, and the memory hook is simple: the doubling mirrors the way the verb adds energy to the original hearth.

How the word is built

• focus (from Latin focus: hearth, fireplace)
• -ed (past tense and past participle; British convention doubles the final -s before the ending)

Words that sound like focussed

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• focused: Concentrating attention or effort clearly on one thing.