Other forms: attentions
Attention is the pointing of your mind at one thing. Pay attention, hold their attention, attention to detail.
Pay attention is the fixed phrase, and attract, hold and divert attention are the others. Attention to detail is one of the most-used phrases in job applications. In the military, attention is the upright standing position: stand to attention. Note attention span; attention seeking; and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, which is a clinical diagnosis and not a description of anybody being distractible.
1nounattentionThe pointing of your mind at one thing.~42%
“Nobody paid attention for about the first nine minutes.”
synonyms: focus, concentration
2nounnoticeNotice or interest from other people.~58%
“The story attracted attention for roughly a fortnight.”
Shares are an estimate: a language model read 19 sentences found in the wild and placed 19 of them on a sense — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.
attention is a directing of the mind.
Also accepted in games: focus
Latin attentio comes from attendere, to stretch towards — ad plus tendere. Attention is literally a stretching of the mind in one direction, which is why holding it is tiring.
Latin
attentiō
Middle English
attencioun
English, today
attention
Built from
From Middle English attencioun, from Latin attentiō. From Middle English attencioun, borrowed from Latin attentio, from attendo, past participle attentus (“to attend, give heed to”); see attend. Equivalent to attend + tion.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA