eyeball

[ahy-bawl]

noun

1. the ball or globe of the eye.

2. Informal.,  eyeballs, 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. in close confrontation

verb

1. slang,  (tr) to stare at

Other Word Forms

• eyeballer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of eyeball¹

1580–90; 1900–05 eyeball for def. 3; eye + ball ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

Example Sentences

Of course she had no idea if ostriches cared about that sort of thing; perhaps there was some advantage to having a skull full of eyeballs instead of brains.

Read more on Literature

Would a bright, glowing light shine from its pages and burn their eyeballs out?

Read more on Literature

Yet we don’t feel the paranoia of eyeballs over the streets, even though it turns out that there’s no way to disguise Powell’s foxlike features under a silly stick-on mustache.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“At the end of the day, for women’s golf to grow, we need to get more eyeballs on it.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Streamers are looking for creative ways to stoke growth, and to prove to advertisers they have a critical mass of eyeballs worth pitching products to.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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