'laser-focused' originates from modern English, combining 'laser' (an acronym coined from 'Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation') and 'focused', which derives from Latin 'focus' where 'focus' meant 'hearth' or 'fireplace'.

'laser' was coined in the 1950s as an English acronym and entered common usage to name devices that emit coherent light; 'focus' entered English via scientific Latin and Middle French from Latin 'focus'; the adjective 'focused' developed from the past participle of the verb formed from 'focus'; the compound adjective 'laser-focused' arose in the late 20th century as a figurative expression meaning intensely concentrated.

Initially 'laser' referred to a specific scientific device and 'focus' originally meant a physical hearth or center; over time 'focus' gained the figurative sense of a point of attention, and 'laser-focused' evolved to mean 'extremely concentrated' in a figurative, often idiomatic way.