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eyeball-to-eyeball

eyeball-to-eyeball

adjective

close or direct and often hostile; face-to-face.
eyeball to eyeball

eyeball to eyeball

Face 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]

Synonyms

eyeball-to-eyeball

American

[ahy-bawl-tuh-ahy-bawl, -too-] / ˈaɪˌbɔl təˈaɪˌbɔl, -tu- /

adjective

close or direct and often hostile; face-to-face.

an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation.

eyeball to eyeball Idioms

Face 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]

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:

eyeball-to-eyeball eyeball to eyeball

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

“It is just a lot more intimidating to go eyeball-to-eyeball with law enforcement rather than just going into your local gun shop to buy a gun,” Professor Webster said.

From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 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

Their snobbery is juxtaposed with Carney’s friend and colleague Pepper’s unsettling bluntness and eyeball to eyeball stare.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

On Wednesday morning, I walked into Channel 4's offices in central London and took a seat in a room eyeball to eyeball with its boss.

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

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

As I shook hands, we were eyeball to eyeball and I felt my head going off to one side in what Kat calls my duck'that's-forgotten-how-to-quack look.

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