eyeball meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

eyeball

noun

UK /ˈaɪ.bɔːl/ · US /ˈaɪ.bɔl/

Etymology From eye + ball. Compare Middle English balle off the eye, balle of þe eyȝe (“eyeball”, literally “ball of the eye”).

The ball of the eye.

Near-synonym: eye
You'll change your mind about not bothering with safety glasses once you've injured your eyeball. That's called closing the barn door after the horse gets out.

2 more examples

Goe make thy ſelfe like a Nymph o' th' Sea. Be ſubiect to no ſight but thine, and mine: inuisible To euery eye-ball elſe: goe take this ſhape, And hither come in't: goe: hence With diligence.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 4, column 2:
Suddenly his eyeballs are glazed with tears. “Mom, can you come get me,” he pleads. “Yeah, ’cause I freaking hate it here.[…]”2021 April 27, Amanda Hess, “Inject the Vaccine Fan Fiction Directly Into My Veins”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 06 May 2021:

An instance of eyeballing something.

Informal Surveillance.

Intelligence work is necessarily limited in scope by the capacity of national surveillance systems. […] Ultimately, it is only when you have an 'eyeball' or the electronic equivalent on a suspect that you have a reasonable chance of a preventive intervention.2016, Marie Breen-Smyth, The Ashgate Research Companion to Political Violence, page 384:

Business, Marketing In plural A readership or viewership.

We need compelling content for the new Web site so we can attract more eyeballs.
When The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuted at the same time as House of the Dragon, much noise was made about which show attracted more eyeballs.2022 October 17, Stuart Heritage, “Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 30 Mar 2023:

Slang A face-to-face meeting.

Caribbean A favourite or pet; the apple of someone's eye.

Synonyms: eye-apple
Derived terms: eyeball queen, eyeball to eyeball, given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow, hairy eyeball, mark 1 eyeball, my eyeball, sailor's eyeball, up to one's eyeballs

verb

Etymology From eye + ball. Compare Middle English balle off the eye, balle of þe eyȝe (“eyeball”, literally “ball of the eye”).

Informal To gauge, estimate or judge by eye, rather than measuring precisely; to look or glance at.

A good cook can often just eyeball the correct quantities of ingredients.
Each geometric construction must be exact; eyeballing it and getting close does not count.

Informal To stare at intently.

To roll one's eyes.

Guardiola strode on to the pitch at half-time to remonstrate with the Spanish referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, but went too far with his eyeballing and matador-like hand movements. He was “upstairs”, in the Colin Bell stand, to watch Liverpool’s second-half turnaround and a dismal seven days for City take another turn for the worse.2018 April 10, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian (London), archived from the original on 16 Jul 2019: