attention
attention Lexical Profile
attention Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The mental faculty of considering, noticing, or taking focused heed of someone or something.
"The professor's engaging lecture held the students' attention for the entire hour."
Special care, treatment, or action directed toward addressing a problem, need, or condition.
"The injured hiker required immediate medical attention after falling on the trail."
An erect, motionless posture assumed by military personnel with the feet together, arms straight at the sides, and eyes looking straight ahead.
"The cadets stood at attention while the commanding officer inspected the barracks."
Polite, gallant, or romantic acts of courtesy and solicitude directed toward a person (often used in the plural).
"She was flattered by the polite attentions of her host throughout the evening."
• interjection
Used as a spoken command, especially in the military, to order personnel to assume an erect, alert posture, or in public announcements to call for immediate listening.
"Attention, passengers: the afternoon train to Chicago will now depart from track four."
• Rhymes for attention
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Latin attentionem, a noun of action from the verb attendere, meaning literally 'to stretch toward' (combining ad- 'to' and tendere 'to stretch'), reflecting the mental effort of directing one's mind toward an object.