Pay attention
Example: Please pay attention to the teacher during class.
Definition
"Pay attention" means to focus one's mental concentration on something or someone, especially to notice or consider what is being said or done. It involves directing awareness deliberately to details or information, such as in the phrase, "Please pay attention to the teacher during class."
Etymology
The phrase "pay attention" combines the verb "pay," originally meaning to give or bestow (from Old French 'paier' and Latin 'pacare'), with "attention," derived from Latin 'attendere,' meaning to stretch toward or heed. Did you know? "Pay" in this context suggests giving or offering mental focus as if it were a valuable currency.
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"Pay attention" appears in the Vocaplus list "English - General - Idioms and Proverbs - (A2) - set 1", containing 104 commonly used expressions.
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