What does attention mean?

Definitions for attention
əˈtɛn ʃən; əˌtɛnˈʃʌnat·ten·tion

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word attention.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. attention, attendingnoun

    the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others

  2. care, attention, aid, tendingnoun

    the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something

    "no medical care was required"; "the old car needs constant attention"

  3. attentionnoun

    a general interest that leads people to want to know more

    "She was the center of attention"

  4. attentionnoun

    a courteous act indicating affection

    "she tried to win his heart with her many attentions"

  5. attentionnoun

    the faculty or power of mental concentration

    "keeping track of all the details requires your complete attention"

  6. attentionnoun

    a motionless erect stance with arms at the sides and feet together; assumed by military personnel during drill or review

    "the troops stood at attention"

Wiktionary

  1. attentionnoun

    Mental focus.

    Please direct your attention to the following words.

  2. attentionnoun

    An action or remark expressing concern for or interest in someone or something, especially romantic interest.

  3. attentionnoun

    A state of alertness in the standing position.

    The company will now come to attention.

  4. attentioninterjection

    Used as a command to bring soldiers to the attention position.

  5. Etymology: From attencioun, from attentio, from attendere, past participle attentus; see attend.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Attentionnoun

    The act of attending or heeding; the act of bending the mind upon any thing.

    Etymology: attention, Fr.

    They say the tongues of dying men
    Inforce attention like deep harmony. William Shakespeare, Richard II.

    He perceived nothing but silence, and signs of attention to what he would further say. Francis Bacon, Holy War.

    But him the gentle angel by the hand
    Soon rais’d, and his attention thus recall’d. Par. Lost, b. xi.

    By attention the ideas, that offer themselves, are taken notice of, and, as it were, registered in the memory. John Locke.

    Attention is a very necessary thing; truth doth not always strike the soul at first sight. Isaac Watts, Improv. of the Mind.

Wikipedia

  1. Attention

    Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether considered subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. William James (1890) wrote that "Attention is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration, of consciousness are of its essence." Attention has also been described as the allocation of limited cognitive processing resources. Attention is manifested by an attentional bottleneck, in terms of the amount of data the brain can process each second; for example, in human vision, only less than 1% of the visual input data (at around one megabyte per second) can enter the bottleneck, leading to inattentional blindness.Attention remains a crucial area of investigation within education, psychology, neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, and neuropsychology. Areas of active investigation involve determining the source of the sensory cues and signals that generate attention, the effects of these sensory cues and signals on the tuning properties of sensory neurons, and the relationship between attention and other behavioral and cognitive processes, which may include working memory and psychological vigilance. A relatively new body of research, which expands upon earlier research within psychopathology, is investigating the diagnostic symptoms associated with traumatic brain injury and its effects on attention. Attention also varies across cultures.The relationships between attention and consciousness are complex enough that they have warranted perennial philosophical exploration. Such exploration is both ancient and continually relevant, as it can have effects in fields ranging from mental health and the study of disorders of consciousness to artificial intelligence and its domains of research.

ChatGPT

  1. attention

    Attention is the mental faculty of selectively focusing on one aspect of the environment while ignoring others. It involves the ability to concentrate, process information, and perceive details effectively. Attention can be voluntary (directed) or involuntary (captured) and plays a significant role in cognitive processes such as learning, perception, and memory.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Attentionnoun

    the act or state of attending or heeding; the application of the mind to any object of sense, representation, or thought; notice; exclusive or special consideration; earnest consideration, thought, or regard; obedient or affectionate heed; the supposed power or faculty of attending

  2. Attentionnoun

    an act of civility or courtesy; care for the comfort and pleasure of others; as, attentions paid to a stranger

Wikidata

  1. Attention

    Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things. Attention has also been referred to as the allocation of processing resources. Attention is one of the most intensely studied topics within psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Attention remains a major area of investigation within education, psychology and neuroscience. Areas of active investigation involve determining the source of the signals that generate attention, the effects of these signals on the tuning properties of sensory neurons, and the relationship between attention and other cognitive processes like working memory and vigilance. A relatively new body of research is investigating the phenomenon of traumatic brain injuries and their effects on attention. Attention also has variations amongst cultures.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Attention

    at-ten′shun, n. act of attending, as in to pay, give, call, or attract attention: steady application of the mind: heed: civility, courtesy: care.—interj. (mil.) a cautionary word used as a command to execute some manœuvre.—adj. Attent′ive, full of attention: courteous, mindful.—adv. Attent′ively.—n. Attenti′veness. [L. attention-emattend-ĕre. See Attend.]

The Roycroft Dictionary

  1. attention

    Concentration of the mind on whatever will ultimately put something in the pocket; hence, in law and politics, the frame-up.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Attention

    Focusing on certain aspects of current experience to the exclusion of others. It is the act of heeding or taking notice or concentrating.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. attention

    A military word of command, calling the soldier from the quiescent position of "at ease" into readiness for any exercise or evolution. Also the erect posture due to that word of command, and which is assumed by a private soldier in the presence of an officer. The attending to signals.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. attention

    A cautionary command addressed to troops preparatory to a particular exercise or manœuvre. Gare-a-vous has the same signification in the French service.

Editors Contribution

  1. attentionnoun

    Necessary announcement used in speech to indicate the particular period of time equivalent to something most likely to be in action. One's Profession. 1.) notice taken of someone or something; the regarding of someone or something as interesting or important.

    My heart and those that dwell within my heart will forever get all my attention.

    Etymology: Life


    Submitted by Tehorah_Elyon on April 6, 2024  


  2. attention

    The ability and choice to focus on a specific purpose.

    The attention was focused on what they would like to achieve together as a united team.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 19, 2020  


  3. attention

    To listen with intent.

    Their attention was on what the farmers were saying to ensure they could suggest solutions for how to move forward together as one group and create a workable solution.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 19, 2020  

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'attention' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #691

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'attention' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1360

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'attention' in Nouns Frequency: #299

How to pronounce attention?

How to say attention in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of attention in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of attention in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of attention in a Sentence

  1. Mason Plumlee:

    He just single-handedly spaced our floor on offense, when you have to give that much attention to somebody, coach always draws up a good first play to get him off, he hits it and then it’s like the rest of the night that team is worried about him coming off pin-downs. Then now, he is getting some cutting baskets because they are so worried about him coming off the screen. It just changes the dynamics of your offense.

  2. Paul Shales:

    I don't know where it's headed, i'm just enjoying it, for the time being, getting some attention.

  3. Mayor Stan Hogeland:

    It draws a lot of attention, a lot of positive attention to our community and business owners and it’s really a lot of fun.

  4. Jason Walsh:

    We are insisting that policy makers pay attention, it is not acceptable to leave any workers or any communities behind. We have an obligation to fulfill to workers and communities that have powered this country for generations and have often paid a very stiff price in terms of the health of their environments and their people and their workers.

  5. Nakhshabi:

    Everything that is acknowledges the blessing of existence. Shalt not thou, by a similar acknowledgment, be happy? If thou pay due attention to sounds, thou shalt hear the praise of the Creator celebrated by the whole creation.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

attention#1#1836#10000

Translations for attention

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for attention »

Translation

Find a translation for the attention definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"attention." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/attention>.

Discuss these attention definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for attention? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    attention

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    out of condition; not strong or robust; incapable of exertion or endurance
    A flabby
    B lacerate
    C pecuniary
    D jejune

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for attention: