Part of speech: nounpart of body
1 [C] either of the two organs on the face that you see with:
The suspect has dark hair and green eyes. * to close / open your eyes * to drop / lower your eyes (= to look down) * There were tears in his eyes. * I have something in my eye. * His eyes narrowed suspiciously. * Her eyes widened in horror. * to make / avoid eye contact with sb (= to look / avoid looking at them at the same time as they look at you) * All eyes were on him (= everyone was looking at him) as he walked on to the stage.
seealsoBLACKEYE, SHUT-EYE
2 (-eyed) (in adjectives) having the type or number of eyes mentioned:
a blue-eyed blonde * a one-eyed monster
ability to see
3 [sing.] the ability to see:
A surgeon needs a good eye and a steady hand.
seealsoEAGLEEYE
way of seeing
4 [C,usually sing.] a particular way of seeing sth:
He looked at the design with the eye of an engineer. * She viewed the findings with a critical eye. * To my eye, the windows seem out of proportion. * She can do no wrong in his eyes.
of needle
5 [C] the hole in the end of a needle that you put the thread through
on clothes
6 [C] a small thin piece of metal curved round, that a small hook fits into, used for fastening clothes:
It fastens with a hook and eye.
of storm
7 [sing.] a / the ~ of a / the storm, tornado, hurricane, etc. a calm area at the centre of a storm, TORNADO, etc.
on potato
8 [C] a dark mark on a potato from which another plant will grow
seealsoCATSEYE, BULLSEYE, THEEVILEYE, FISHEYELENS, RED-EYE
IDIOMS
be all eyes to be watching sb/sth carefully and with a lot of interest:
The kids were all eyes as he slowly unwrapped the package.
before / in front of sb's (very) eyes in sb's presence; in front of sb:
He had seen his life's work destroyed before his very eyes.
be up to your eyes in sth to have a lot of sth to deal with:
We're up to our eyes in work.
cast / run an eye / your eyes over sth to look at or examine sth quickly:
Could you just run your eyes over this report?
clap / lay / set eyes on sb/sth (spoken) (usually used in negative sentences) to see sb/sth:
I haven't clapped eyes on them for weeks. * I hope I never set eyes on this place again!
an eye for an eye (and a tooth for a tooth) (saying) used to say that you should punish sb by doing to them what they have done to you or to sb else:
They advocate a justice system that works on the principle of an eye for an eye.
sb's eyes are bigger than their stomach used to say that sb has been GREEDY by taking more food than they can eat
for sb's eyes only to be seen only by a particular person:
I'll lend you the letters but they're for your eyes only.
get / keep your eye in (BrE) (in ball games) to practise so that you are able to judge more clearly how fast and where the ball is going
have an eye for sth to be able to judge if things look attractive, valuable, etc:
I've never had much of an eye for fashion. * She has an eye for a bargain.
have eyes in the back of your head to be aware of everything that is happening around you, even things that seem difficult or impossible to see:
You can't get away with anything in her class-she has eyes in the back of her head.
have one eye / half an eye on sth to look at or watch sth while doing sth else, especially in a secret way so that other people do not notice:
During his talk, most of the delegates had one eye on the clock.
have your eye on sb
1 to be watching sb carefully, especially to check that they do not do anything wrong:
And remember, I'll have my eye on you so you'd better behave.
2 to be thinking about asking sb out, offering sb a job, etc. because you think they are attractive, good at their job, etc:
He's got his eye on the new girl in your class.
have your eye on sth to be thinking about buying sth
in the eyes of the law, world, etc. according to the law, most people in the world, etc:
In the eyes of the law she is guilty though few ordinary people would think so.
keep an eye on sb/sth to take care of sb/sth and make sure that they are not harmed, damaged, etc:
We've asked the neighbours to keep an eye on the house for us while we are away.
keep an eye open / out (for sb/sth) to look for sb/sth while you are doing other things:
Police have asked residents to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.
keep your eyes peeled / skinned (for sb/sth) to look carefully for sb/sth:
We kept our eyes peeled for any signs of life.
look sb in the eye(s) / face (usually used in negative sentences and questions) to look straight at sb without feeling embarrassed or ashamed:
Can you look me in the eye and tell me you're not lying? * I'll never be able to look her in the face again!
make eyes at sb
