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• an eye for an eye
  an eye for an eye

  The principle of justice that requires punishment equal in kind to the offense (not greater than the offense, as was frequently given in ancient times). Thus, if someone puts out another's eye, one of the offender's eyes should be put out. The principle is stated in the Book of Exodus as “Thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”
• eye for an eye, an
  eye for an eye, an

  Punishment in which the offender suffers what the victim has suffered, exact retribution, as in Joe believed in an eye for an eye; stealing his client would have to be avenged. This idiom is a quotation from the Bible, which has “Life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Deuteronomy 19:21); the idea is contradicted in the New Testament (see turn the other cheek).

an eye for an eye

Cultural  

1. The principle of justice that requires punishment equal in kind to the offense (not greater than the offense, as was frequently given in ancient times). Thus, if someone puts out another's eye, one of the offender's eyes should be put out. The principle is stated in the Book of Exodus as “Thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

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eye for an eye, an Idioms  

1. Punishment in which the offender suffers what the victim has suffered, exact retribution, as in Joe believed in an eye for an eye; stealing his client would have to be avenged. This idiom is a quotation from the Bible, which has “Life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Deuteronomy 19:21); the idea is contradicted in the New Testament (see turn the other cheek).

2. see eye for an eye.

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Jesus referred to this principle in the Sermon on the Mount, calling on his followers to turn the other cheek instead.

Example Sentences

“We don’t believe in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, because that always leads to a bad situation,” Sheinbaum told journalists at her daily news conference.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2025

She offers a better resolution than an eye for an eye, in the form a honey-flavored absolution, baked with love.

From Salon • Jan. 17, 2024

A common misperception is that proportionality in self-defence means an eye for an eye, a rocket for a rocket, or a casualty for a casualty.

From BBC • May 15, 2021

“Justice is seen as an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

From The Guardian • Jun. 16, 2018

Here was a religion based on Judaism and the Mosaic code, "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."

From Woman's Life in Colonial Days by Holliday, Carl

Related Words

• reprisal
• retribution
• revenge