n. Active direction of the mind upon an object of sense or of thought, giving it relative or absolute prominence: it may be either voluntary or involuntary.n. The power or faculty of mental concentration.n. Consideration; observant care; notice: as, your letter has just arrived, and will receive early attention.n. Civility or courtesy, or an act of civility or courtesy: as, attention to a stranger; in the plural, acts of courtesy indicating regard: as, his attentions to the lady were most marked.n. In military tactics, a cautionary word used as a preparative to a command to execute some manœuver: as, attention, company! right face!n. n. The whole of consciousness, regarded as made up of contents which may successively become clear under attention. The first usage is based on the analogy of the visual field of regard, the second on the analogy of the field of vision.