eyedropper

American  

[ahy-drop-er] / ˈaɪˌdrɒp ər /

noun

1. a dropper, often one used to dispense medicine such as eye drops or ear drops.

   Hold the eyedropper over the eye and carefully dispense the prescribed number of drops into the eye.

   Use an eye dropper to put some of the cleaning solution directly into the top of the printhead.

2. Digital Technology.

   1. Usually eyedropper tool a menu option or function that allows the user of a graphics application to sample and analyze a color occurring in a digital image, and then adjust or replicate that color for use elsewhere.

      You can set the skin tone for your image more precisely using the eyedropper tool.

   2. a menu icon representing this function, resembling a dropper, used for taking up and dispensing small amounts of liquid, as paint on a color palette.

      Click on the eyedropper and then click on the color you want to select.

---

Etymology

Origin of eyedropper

First recorded in 1935–40; eye + dropper

Example Sentences

“That’s showing up to a four-alarm fire with an eyedropper full of water,” one expert noted to the New York Times.

From Slate • Apr. 28, 2021

Closing bars earlier in the evening, he said, “might have worked in July, but there’s not a chance they’ll work now. It’s like taking an eyedropper to a forest fire.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2020

There was a pen built in 1851 that came with an eyedropper for dripping ink into a central tube, and even a homemade brew for cleaning up ink stains called Fred’s Secret Sauce.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2019

If you’re working with the stuff, I strongly advise using an eyedropper.

From Washington Post • Feb. 8, 2015

By the time an extreme amplification peaks out. an eyedropper of the victim’s blood may contain a hundred million particles of virus.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston