eyeball-to-eyeball
adjective
close or direct and often hostile; face-to-face.
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eyeball-to-eyeball
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eyeball to eyeball
eyeball to eyeballFace to face; especially, about to begin a conflict. For example, We are eyeball to eyeball with the enemy, or In the playoffs we go eyeball to eyeball with the Yankees, or In the first debate our candidate's going eyeball to eyeball with his opponent. This term was originally used only in a military context but later entered civilian language, particularly in political or sports confrontations. [Colloquial; c. 1950]
eyeball-to-eyeball
American
[ahy-bawl-tuh-ahy-bawl, -too-]
/ ˈaɪˌbɔl təˈaɪˌbɔl, -tu- /
adjective
eyeball to eyeball
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of eyeball-to-eyeball
First recorded in 1960–65
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:
For half a century, Moscow and Washington glared and growled at each other, eyeball-to-eyeball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2022
But the Macron meeting marked a rare opportunity for a Western leader to spend an extended period of time in Putin's company and to gauge, eyeball-to-eyeball, his state of mind.
From Reuters ● Feb. 10, 2022
It even sounds like something that might have come from an eyeball-to-eyeball songwriting session with Lennon.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 7, 2018
However flexible, informal and secret WhatsApp may be, Alterman argues that no messaging system can ever be a substitute for eyeball-to-eyeball diplomacy.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 4, 2016
John Kennedy had spoken often of some sort of looming showdown with the Soviet Union, some eyeball-to-eyeball moment that would shove the future one way or the other.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Prince Harry has been on this collision course for years - and finally he is going to be in a courtroom in person, eyeball to eyeball, in his battle against the tabloid press.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2023
It evokes Constantin Brancusi’s 1908 “The Kiss,” a semi-abstract depiction of a nearly identical man and woman embracing eyeball to eyeball.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 18, 2022
I'll bet you remember this comment, reputedly from my secretary of state Dean Rusk, about the negotiations with the Soviets over Cuba: "We're eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked."
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2022
The two sides were literally eyeball to eyeball when a Navy P-2 surveillance aircraft flew low over the submarine, dropping flares that detonated with loud noises and blinding flashes.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2021
We were eyeball to eyeball, just as we’d been when we’d first met.
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
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.
