Eye Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary (2024)

¹ eye

/ˈaɪ/

noun

plural

eyes

¹ eye

/ˈaɪ/

noun

plural

eyes

Britannica Dictionary definition of EYE

[count]

the part of the body that you see with

Her eyes slowly became accustomed to the dark.
He wears a patch over one eye.
I have something in my eye.
He has (a pair of) bright blue eyes.
bright/sad/sleepy eyes
She has good/strong/bad/weak eyes. [=eyesight]
Her eyes lit up [=she looked excited and happy] when he showed her the ring.
His eyes were popping out of his head with astonishment [=he looked very astonished] when he saw how big it was!
He punched him right between the eyes. [=punched him hard in the face]
She looked me (right) in the eye [=she looked directly at me] and told me I was fired.
The garden is a feast for the eyes. [=the garden is very beautiful]
The display was very pleasing to the eye. [=pleasing to look at]
I measured the distance by eye. = I measured the distance with my eye. [=by looking at it to get a rough idea of its size]
Their daughter came home from school with tears in her eyes. [=she was crying]
Seeing her again brought tears to my eyes. = Seeing her again brought a tear to my eye. [=made me shed tears]
He had/kept half an eye on [=he occasionally looked at] the TV while he read the paper.

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[singular]

an ability to understand and appreciate something seen

Only a trained eye can tell the difference between the original painting and a good copy.
For decorating, they rely on her discerning/discriminating/expert eye.
He has an artist's eye for color.

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◊ If you have an eye for something or a good/keen/sharp eye for something, you have a special ability to recognize a particular thing or quality.

He has a keen eye for detail.
He has a good eye for quality.

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— used to describe the way something looks to you

It looks a little awkward to my eye. [=it looks awkward to me]

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a way of looking at or judging something

He reviewed the proposal with a jaundiced/critical eye.
The biographer cast a cold/critical/skeptical eye on the artist's life.

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[count]

— used to describe where someone is looking

Her eye was attracted to the bright colors in the painting.
She dropped her eyes [=she looked down] when he looked at her. = Her eyes fell when he looked at her.
He averted his eyes [=he looked away] when she approached him.
I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye. [=to the side of where I was looking]
Her eyes fell on [=she noticed] a piece of evidence no one had noticed before.
All eyes were on her [=everyone was looking at her] as she entered the room.
She fixed her eyes on me [=she kept looking or staring at me] for a long time before answering.

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[count]

a way of looking at or thinking about something

We need to look at this problem with a fresh eye. [=to look at the problem in a new way]
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. [=different people have different ideas about what is beautiful]

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— often plural

He was guilty in the eyes of the police. [=the police considered him guilty]
He was handsome in her eyes. [=she thought he was handsome]
In the eyes [=opinion] of many, he is the best person for the job.

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[count]

the hole through the top of a needle

the eye of a needle

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[count]

a loop that a hook fits into to fasten or attach something

[count]

an area on a potato from which a new plant can grow

a bud on a potato

[count]

the center of a storm (such as a hurricane) where there is little wind or rain and sometimes there is clear sky

The eye of the storm should reach the coast by morning.

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all eyes

watching something or someone closely

very attentive

She was all eyes as I opened the box.

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an eye for an eye

an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

— used to say that a person who has committed a crime should be given punishment that is the same as or as serious as the crime

The ancient code of law called for punishment in the form of an eye for an eye.

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as far as the eye could see

as far as could be seen

The crowd stretched away as far as the eye could see.

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a sight for sore eyes

— see 1sight

a twinkle in your eye

— see 1twinkle

bawl your eyes out

— see bawl

before your eyes

in front of your eyes

◊ If something happens (right) before your eyes or in front of your (very) eyes, it happens in a very open and visible way so that you can see it very clearly.

Technology is changing right before our eyes.
We were watching a disaster take place in front of our very eyes.

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can't believe your eyes

— see believe

cast/run your eye over

to read or look at (something) quickly

Please run your eye over this and let me know what you think.
She cast her eye over the apartment, appalled by the mess.

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catch your eye

— see 1catch

close/shut your eyes to

to refuse to notice or accept the truth or existence of (something)

to ignore (something)

Our legislators have closed their eyes to the poverty that surrounds them.

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co*ck an/your eye

— see 2co*ck

cry your eyes out

— see 1cry

easy on the eyes

— see 1easy

eyes in the back of your head

◊ When people are surprised that you have seen or noticed something that is behind you, they may say that you have eyes in the back of your head.

How did you know we were here? You must have eyes in the back of your head!

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feast your eyes on

— see 2feast

for your eyes only

intended to be seen only by you

This memo is for your eyes only.

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give (someone) the eye

informal

to look at (someone) in a way that shows sexual attraction

Several men were giving her the eye across the bar.

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have/keep an/your eye out for

to be looking for (someone or something)

to hope to see or find (someone or something)

I'm keeping my eye out for a good cheap used car.
He'll be here soon, so keep your eye out for him.

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have an eye to/toward

to have (something) in your thoughts as a goal or purpose

She has an eye to attending graduate school. [=she hopes to attend graduate school]

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(have) stars in your eyes

— see 1star

have your eye on

to watch (someone or something) closely

I'll have my eye on the kids while they're swimming.

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to be thinking about buying (something)

I have my eye on a new car.
She's had her eye on that house for a long time.

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in a pig's eye

US slang

— used to express strong disagreement

You want me to apologize to him? In a pig's eye! [=Never!]
See Also
Scrabble Dictionary - Most Trusted Dictionary and Scrabble Word Finder

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in the blink of an eye

— see 2blink

in the public eye

in a position that receives a lot of public notice and attention

The job requires someone who is comfortable being in the public eye.

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in the twinkle/twinkling of an eye

in a very short time

very quickly

He was back in the twinkle/twinkling of an eye.

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in your mind's eye

◊ If you see something in your mind's eye, you imagine or remember how it looks.

I can still see the old playground in my mind's eye.

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keep an/your eye on

to watch or take care of (someone or something)

Will you keep an eye on my suitcase (for me) while I get something to eat?

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keep your eye on the ball

— see 1ball

keep your eyes glued to

informal

to watch (something) very closely for a long time

They kept their eyes glued to the television, waiting for more news about the accident.

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keep your eyes open

informal

keep your eyes peeled

or British

keep your eyes skinned

to look or watch closely in order to see or find (something)

We kept our eyes peeled for a sign that would tell us where to turn.

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lay/set eyes on

or British

clap eyes on

to see or look at (someone or something)

I hope never to lay eyes on him again!
We liked the house from the moment we set eyes on it. [=the moment when we first saw it]

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make eyes at

informal

to look at (someone) in a way that shows sexual attraction

Some guy was making eyes at her from across the room.

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more than meets the eye

◊ If something is more than meets the eye or there is more to something than meets the eye, there is more to it than there appears to be at first.

There is more to this proposal than meets the eye.

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my eye

informal

— used to express surprise or mild disagreement

A diamond, my eye! That's glass!

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not bat an eye

— see 4bat

only have eyes for

to only be attracted to (a particular person)

to only feel love for (someone)

He only has eyes for you.

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open someone's eyes

to cause someone to notice or be aware of something important

The experience really opened his eyes and changed the way he felt about his life.

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— often + to

It's time they opened their eyes to the truth.
His film helped open people's eyes to the problem.

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open your eyes

to begin to notice or be aware of something important

You need to open your eyes and face the truth.

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— often + to

We have to open our eyes to these problems and stop ignoring them.

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pull the wool over someone's eyes

— see wool

roving eye

— see roving

run your eye down

to quickly read or look at (something, such as a list)

She ran her eye down the list looking for her name.

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see eye to eye

to have the same opinion

agree

— usually used in negative statements

They don't see eye to eye (with each other) on this issue.

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take your eyes off

to stop looking at (someone or something)

I took my eyes off the road for one second.
She was so beautiful, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

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the apple of someone's eye

— see apple

turn a blind eye

— see 1blind

under the eye of

while being watched by (someone)

The students did their work under the watchful/vigilant eye of their teacher.

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up to your eyes

deeply involved in or affected by something

We're up to our eyes in work. [=we are very busy]
They're up to their eyes in debt.

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with an eye to/toward

with (something) in your thoughts as a goal or purpose

They hired him with an eye toward increased sales.
They bought the house with an eye toward its restoration.
He took the job with an eye to the future. [=he took the job because he felt it would help him in the future]

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with your/both eyes open

fully aware of what could happen

I went into the job with my eyes (wide) open.
If you do this, you need to do it with both eyes open.

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with your eyes shut/closed

informal

with little or no effort

very easily

She could run that company with her eyes shut.

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your eyes are bigger than your stomach

◊ If your eyes are bigger than your stomach, you have taken more food than you can possibly eat.

I can't finish my meal—I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach!

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— see also black eye, evil eye, rib eye, seeing eye

² eye

/ˈaɪ/

verb

eyes;

eyed;

eyeing

eying

² eye

/ˈaɪ/

verb

eyes;

eyed;

eyeing

eying

Britannica Dictionary definition of EYE

[+ object]

to watch or look at (someone or something) in a very close or careful way

I saw someone eyeing me from across the street.
The manager eyed us (up and down) as we walked into the restaurant.

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