bird's-eye

American  

[burdz-ahy] / ˈbɜrdzˌaɪ /

adjective

1. seen from above, as by a bird in flight; panoramic.

   a bird's-eye view of the city.

2. omitting many details; broad; superficial; general.

   a bird's-eye view of ancient history.

3. having spots or markings resembling the eyes of a bird.

   bird's-eye tweed.

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noun

• bird's-eyes
  plural

1. any of various plants having small, round, bright-colored flowers, as a primrose, Primula farinosa, or a speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys.

2. Textiles.

   1. a woven, allover pattern on fabrics, characterized chiefly by small diamond shapes resembling the eyes of a bird.

   2. a fabric having this pattern, especially a cotton used for diapers or a linen used for toweling.

bird's-eye British  

adjective

1. 1. seen or photographed from high above

   2. summarizing the main points of a topic; summary (esp in the phrase bird's-eye view )

2. having markings resembling birds' eyes

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noun

1. a Eurasian primrose, Primula farinosa , having clusters of purplish flowers with yellow centres

2. the usual US name for germander speedwell

3. any of several other plants having flowers of two contrasting colours

4. a pattern in linen and cotton fabrics, made up of small diamond shapes with a dot in the centre of each

5. a linen or cotton fabric with such a pattern

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• bird's-eyes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bird's-eye

First recorded in 1590–1600; bird + 's ¹ + eye

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bird's-eye bird's-eyes

Residents say they lounge in the sun on unfinished balconies , take in a bird’s-eye view of the neighborhood and, of course, communicate with one another.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

For that reason, I suggest you enlist independent third-party help: a fee-only fiduciary who can give you a bird’s-eye view of your finances and who has no incentive to sell you another policy.

From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026

He shifts effortlessly between bird’s-eye panoramas of battles and empires and close-up historical family dramas or images of himself rumbling along in a truck on dirt roads to visit the sites where things happened.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025

Only one small piece of the house remained: a brick fireplace with its chimney, situated near windows with bird’s-eye views of the Pacific Ocean below.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025

It dawned on me that a clearer trajectory through this morass would consist of zooming in from a bird’s-eye view to increasingly microscopic components.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Logs of great value, having bird's-eyes, have often unsuspectingly been chopped up for fire wood.

From Wood and Forest by William Noyes

The bird’s-eyes bright; Pink-tipp’d daisies; sorrel red, Drooping o’er the lark’s green bed; Oxlips; glazed buttercups, Out of which the wild bee sups; See! they dance about thy feet!

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 347, September, 1844 by Various

The little blossoms have a peculiarly fresh and winsome look, and are called "bird's-eyes" by the children.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Mary Elizabeth Parsons

They were a beautiful blue, not like any other blue, not like the violets in the garden, or the sky over the trees, or the geranium in the grass, or the bird's-eyes by the path.

From The Open Air by Richard Jefferies

Related Words

• across-the-board
• all-encompassing
• broad
• comprehensive
• exhaustive
• extensive
• radical
• thorough
• wholesale