Phrase guide

attention span

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /əˈtɛn.ʃən spæn/

1

noun

Meaning 1

The length of time, or span that one can pay attention, or concentrate on one topic without becoming distracted.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • He has learning difficulties because of his short attention span.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the length of time you can concentrate on some idea or activity

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: span

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: aandachtsspanne — time one can pay attention
  • Dutch: spanningsboog — time one can pay attention
  • Finnish: keskittymiskyky — time one can pay attention
  • Finnish: keskittymisjänne — time one can pay attention
  • Finnish: huomiojänne — time one can pay attention
  • French: capacité de concentration — time one can pay attention
  • German: Aufmerksamkeitsspanne — time one can pay attention
  • Polish: koncentracja uwagi — time one can pay attention