beholder
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of beholder
Explanation
A beholder is an observer: someone who gains awareness of things through the senses, especially sight. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then the person who is observing gets to decide what is beautiful. A common saying is "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," which means beauty doesn't exist on its own but is created by observers. That famous quote can help you remember that a beholder is someone who sees or otherwise experiences things, becoming aware of them. To be a beholder, you have to pay attention. Different beholders might take in different aspects of the same event, like witnesses to a crime.
Vocabulary lists containing beholder
The Devil in the White City
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A Wizard of Earthsea
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Wishtree
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Of course, reasonableness is in the eye of the beholder — but to my eye, the reported numbers do not seem too generous.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
Victory will then be in the eye of the beholder.
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
But it’s important to remember that irrationality is often in the eye of the beholder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, for them, this guts-and-grit victory will look beautiful from every angle.
From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2025
Luck was in the eye of the beholder, I supposed.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
You know what they say about beauty and beholders.
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
It is, in a word, an accomplishment to satisfy practically all beholders, and especially those who consider a splendiferous film musical one of the best reasons for attending a theater.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2023
Designed to entertain their beholders, both Disney animation and Rococo decorative arts represent tangible records of the societies for which they were made.
From Slate ● Dec. 13, 2021
It’s in the eye of the beholder, and the beholders in Iowa were determined to get caucus-goers to see it their way.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 4, 2020
The three beautiful daughters became more beautiful still in the eyes of their beholders.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
