eyeball

[ ahy-bawl ]

noun

1. the ball or globe of the eye.
2. eyeballs, Informal. people who view or read something:

   Old TV shows are getting a lot of eyeballs online.

verb (used with object)

1. Informal. to look at, check, or observe closely:

   two opponents eyeballing each other.

eyeball

/ ˈaɪˌbɔːl /

noun

1. the entire ball-shaped part of the eye
2. eyeball to eyeball
   eyeball to eyeball in close confrontation

verb

1. slang.
   tr to stare at

Other Words From

• eyeballer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of eyeball¹

1580–90; 1900–05 eyeball fordef 3; eye + ball ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. give (someone) the hairy eyeball, Slang. to look at (someone) with eyelids partly lowered, as in hostility or distrust.

Example Sentences

As Packer said about dashboards as an easier entry, that’s more eyeballs on sponsored products without the NHL cost.

From FiveThirtyEight

The smartest buyers are learning CTV can be about much more than chasing eyeballs.

From Digiday

It has forced them to get creative and lean on the wealth of knowledge they have about consumers to create original, flashy, engaging, and attention-grabbing content that draws eyeballs.

From Search Engine Watch

They work by changing how light enters the eyeball, preventing the conditions that cause myopia to progress.

From Popular-Science

For example, Google has made several changes that keep eyeballs on their own results pages instead of diverting that traffic to other websites.

From Digiday

The two countries were eyeball to eyeball in a tense standoff for almost a year.

From The Daily Beast

For many this can be totally doable, while those averse to numbers might rather just eyeball their portions.

From The Daily Beast

Hedren narrowly missed having an eyeball clawed out during one take.

From The Daily Beast

The arctic char eyeball, on the other hand, which I had the day after—a raw eyeball is a whole other matter.

From The Daily Beast

Bigwigs headhunting superhumans to run splashy enterprises eyeball you.

From The Daily Beast

But thou art silent, And from thine eyeball flames contemptuous anger.

From Project Gutenberg

They had a secret iv rasslin' be which a Jap rassler cud blow on his opponent's eyeball an' break his ankle.

From Project Gutenberg

Here the radium rays had acted upon the eyeball through the bones of the head.

From Project Gutenberg

My heart was in my mouth, for at first I believed from his expression that he had detected the gleam of my eyeball.

From Project Gutenberg

Things that rode meaningless on the eyeball an instant before slid into proper proportion.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• analyze
• check
• check out
• comb
• consider
• dissect
• explore
• inspect
• investigate
• look over
• peruse
• pore over
• probe
• scan
• sift
• watch
• weigh