in focus

in focus

1. Visually crisp and clear, typically of something seen through a camera or other such adjustable device. If the vase of flowers isn't in focus now, it'll come out blurry in the pictures. When I told the eye doctor that the eye chart wasn't in focus, he adjusted his machine some more. Yeah, but if the footage isn't in focus, we'll never be able to make out the perpetrator's face.
2. Better or more clearly understood or seen in a new perspective. The importance of conservation efforts is now in focus for a lot of the students, thanks to Chelsea's passionate speech about the environment.
See also: focus
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*in focus

 
1. Lit. [of an image] seen clearly and sharply. (*Typically: be ~; come [into] ~; get [into] ~; get something [into] ~.) I have the slide in focus and can see the bacteria clearly.
2. Lit. [for optics, such as lenses, or an optical device, such as a microscope] to be aligned to allow something to be seen clearly and sharply. I've adjusted the telescope; Mars is now in focus.
3. Fig. [of problems, solutions, appraisals of people or things] perceived or understood clearly. (*Typically: be ~; get [into] ~; get something [into] ~.) Now that things are in focus, I feel better about the world.
See also: focus
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • come into focus
  • have none of it/that
  • have/want none of it/that
  • break (something) on (something)
  • break on
  • slip from
  • slip from (something)
  • give (one) a thick ear
  • give someone a thick ear
  • place with
References in periodicals archive
New Amsterdam: New World Company Town (play), S19-16 NORTH AMERICA (see also individual countries) Maps of the World, 017&24-13 North America in 1605 (map), N14-17 Where Hurricanes Struck Home (map), D12-T6 Who's Who/Government Leaders, 017&24-8 World in Focus, 017&24-24 NORTH KOREA Who's Who/Government Leaders, 017&24-11 NUCLEAR ENERGY A "Strong Step" Against Iran, My8-4 Iran's Nuclear Threat?
OCEANIA (see a/so individual countries) Oceania (map), 017&24-21 World in Focus, 017&24-33 O'CONNOR, SANDRA DAY Changes in the Supreme Court, S19-3 New Era for the Court, Mr6-4 Supreme Court and You, Ja9-10 Supreme Court Ins and Outs, D12-5 Supreme Court Shuffle, N28-5 OLYMPIC GAMES Gold Rush: 2006 Winter Olympic Games, F6-6 Olympic Passion (with chart), Mr27-4 PAKISTAN Who's Who/Government Leaders, 017&24-11 PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES Gaza Time Line 1946-2005, N14-10 GeoSkills: Changing Borders, N14-14 Palestinians' Surprise Vote (with map), Mr6-4 Trouble in Gaza, N14-10 Who's Who/Government Leaders, 017&24-10 PARKS, ROSA Legacy of Rosa Barks (play), N28-6 PETS Designer Dog or Mutt?
Junior Scholastic index