attention
n. uncountablen. the act of listening, looking at, or thinking about something carefully. You use this when you want someone to focus on you or a specific task.
n. the mental faculty of considering or taking notice of someone or something. In a military context, it refers to a formal posture of readiness and silence.
Please pay attention to the teacher.
The speaker raised her voice to get the attention of the crowd at the back of the room.
While the primary goal of the advertisement was to capture public attention, its subtle messaging aimed to influence long-term consumer behavior through repeated exposure.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *ten- Proto-Indo-European *tend-der. Proto-Italic *tendō Latin tendō Latin attendō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Latin -tiō Latin attentiōbor. Middle English attencioun English attention From Middle English attencioun, borrowed from Latin attentio, attentionis, from attendere, past participle attentus (“to attend, give heed to”); see attend. Equivalent to attend + -tion.
Commonly used with the verbs 'pay', 'get', 'attract', or 'draw'. In its military sense, it is used as a command and does not take an article.
I paid attention at the movieI paid attention to the movieThe noun requires the preposition 'to' when indicating the object of focus.