eye (eyes plural & 3rd person present) (eyeing present participle) (eying present participle) (eyed past tense & past participle )
1 n-count Your eyes are the parts of your body with which you see.
oft poss N in pl
I opened my eyes and looked..., Maria's eyes filled with tears., ...a tall, thin white-haired lady with piercing dark brown eyes..., He is now blind in one eye.
2 verb If you eye someone or something in a particular way, you look at them carefully in that way.
Sally eyed Claire with interest... V n prep/adv
Martin eyed the bottle at Marianne's elbow. V n
3 n-count You use eye when you are talking about a person's ability to judge things or about the way in which they are considering or dealing with things.
usu sing, with supp, oft a N for n
William was a man of discernment, with an eye for quality..., Their chief negotiator turned his critical eye on the United States..., He first learnt to fish under the watchful eye of his grandmother.
4 n-count An eye on a potato is one of the dark spots from which new stems grow.
5 n-count An eye is a small metal loop which a hook fits into, as a fastening on a piece of clothing.
6 n-count The eye of a needle is the small hole at one end which the thread passes through.
7 n-sing The eye of a storm, tornado, or hurricane is the centre of it.
the N of n
The eye of the hurricane hit Florida just south of Miami.
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black eye
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private eye
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shut-eye
9 If you say that something happens before your eyes, in front of your eyes, or under your eyes, you are emphasizing that it happens where you can see it clearly and often implying that it is surprising or unpleasant.
before/in front of/under your eyes phrase usu PHR after v, v-link PHR (emphasis)
A lot of them died in front of our eyes...
10 If you cast your eye or run your eye over something, you look at it or read it quickly.
cast/run your eye phrase V inflects, PHR prep
I would be grateful if he could cast an expert eye over it and tell me what he thought of it...
11 If something catches your eye, you suddenly notice it.
catch someone's eye phrase V inflects
As she turned back, a movement across the lawn caught her eye.
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eye-catching
12 If you catch someone's eye, you do something to attract their attention, so that you can speak to them.
catch someone's eye phrase V inflects
I tried to catch Chrissie's eye to find out what she was playing at.
13 To clap eyes on someone or something, or set or lay eyes on them, means to see them.
INFORMAL
clap/lay/set eyes on phrase V inflects, oft after superl, oft with brd-neg
That's probably the most bare and bleak island I've ever had the misfortune to clap eyes on..., What was he doing when you last set eyes on him?
14 If you make eye contactwith someone, you look at them at the same time as they look at you, so that you are both aware that you are looking at each other. If you avoid eye contactwith someone, you deliberately do not look straight at them because you feel awkward or embarrassed.
eye contact phrase PHR after v
She was looking at me across the room, and we made eye contact several times..., I spent a fruitless ten minutes walking up and down the high street, desperately avoiding eye contact with passers-by.
15 If you close your eyes to something bad or if you shut your eyes to it, you ignore it.
close/shut your eyes to something phrase V inflects, PHR n
Most governments must simply be shutting their eyes to the problem.
16 If you cry your eyes out, you cry very hard.
INFORMAL
cry your eyes out phrase V inflects
17 If there is something as far as the eye can see, there is a lot of it and you cannot see anything else beyond it.
as far as the eye can/could see phrase
There are pine trees as far as the eye can see.
18 If you say that someone has an eye for something, you mean that they are good at noticing it or making judgments about it.
have an eye for something phrase V inflects
Susan has a keen eye for detail, so each dress is beautifully finished off.
19 You use expressions such as in his eyes or to her eyes to indicate that you are reporting someone's opinion and that other people might think differently.
in/to someone's eyes phrase PHR with cl-group
The other serious problem in the eyes of the new government is communalism..., Richard Dorrington was, in their eyes, a very sensible and reliable man...
20 If you keep your eyes open or keep an eye outfor someone or something, you watch for them carefully.
INFORMAL
keep your eyes open, keep an eye out for something phrase V inflects, oft PHR for n
I ask the mounted patrol to keep their eyes open..., You and your friends keep an eye out<endash>if there's any trouble we'll make a break for it.
21 If you keep an eye on something or someone, you watch them carefully, for example to make sure that they are satisfactory or safe, or not causing trouble.
keep your eye on something phrase V inflects, PHR n
I'm sure you will appreciate that we must keep a careful eye on all our running costs..., I went for a run there, keeping an eye on the children the whole time...
22 You say `there's more to this than meets the eye' when you think a situation is not as simple as it seems to be.
there's more to this than meets the eye phrase
This whole business is very puzzling. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye.
23 If something, especially something surprising or impressive, meets your eyes, you see it.
meet sb's eyes phrase V inflects
The first sight that met my eyes on reaching the front door was the church enveloped in flames.
24 If you say that all eyes are on something or that the eyes of the world are on something, you mean that everyone is paying careful attention to it and what will happen. (JOURNALISM)
all eyes are on something phrase V inflects, PHR n
All eyes will be on tomorrow's vote..., The eyes of the world were now on the police.
25 If someone has their eye on you, they are watching you carefully to see what you do.
have your eye on someone phrase V inflects, PHR n
As the boat plodded into British waters and up the English Channel, Customs had their eye on her.
26 If you have your eye on something, you want to have it.
INFORMAL
have your eye on something phrase V inflects, PHR n
...if you're saving up for a new outfit you've had your eye on.
27 If you say that you did something with your eyes open or with your eyes wide open, you mean that you knew about the problems and difficulties that you were likely to have.
with your eyes open phrase PHR after v
We want all our members to undertake this trip responsibly, with their eyes open.
28 If something opens your eyes, it makes you aware that something is different from the way that you thought it was.
open your eyes phrase V inflects, oft PHR to n
Watching your child explore the world about her can open your eyes to delights long forgotten.
29 If you see eye to eyewith someone, you agree with them and have the same opinions and views.
see eye to eye phrase V inflects, PHR with n, pl-n PHR
Yuriko saw eye to eye with Yul on almost every aspect of the production...
30 When you take your eyes off the thing you have been watching or looking at, you stop looking at it.
take your eyes off something phrase V inflects, PHR n
She took her eyes off the road to glance at me...
31 If someone sees or considers something through your eyes, they consider it in the way that you do, from your point of view.
through someone's eyes phrase PHR after v
She tried to see things through his eyes...
32 If you say that you are up to your eyesin something, you are emphasizing that you have a lot of it to deal with, and often that you are very busy.
INFORMAL
up to your eyes phrase v-link PHR, usu PHR in n (emphasis)
I am up to my eyes in work...
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the apple of your eye
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apple
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to turn a blind eye
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blind
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to feast your eyes
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feast
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in your mind's eye
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mind
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the naked eye
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naked
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to pull the wool over someone's eyes
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wool eye up phrasal verb If someone eyes you up, they look at you in a way that shows they consider you attractive.
(BRIT)
INFORMAL
(=ogle)
...a slob who eyes up the women and makes lewd comments... V P n (not pron)
The women sit in the corner and men eye them up. V n P
