eyeful
Americannoun
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an amount of foreign matter thrown, blown, etc., into the eye.
an eyeful of dust.
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as much as one can or wants to see.
The tourists got an eyeful of slum life.
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Informal. a very attractive person, especially a beautiful woman.
noun
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a view, glance, or gaze
he got an eyeful of the secret before they blindfolded him
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a very beautiful or attractive sight, esp a woman
Etymology
Origin of eyeful
Explanation
When you get an eyeful, you get a good, long look at something or someone. Climbing to the summit of a mountain can give you an eyeful of the beautiful valley below. A complete view of anything can be described colloquially as an eyeful, but for some reason people usually mean "a good look at a naked person" when they say it. Your mom might say, "A streaker ran nude through the football game, and boy did we get an eyeful!" Occasionally, the word means "a good-looking person," as when someone says, "Your cousin's really an eyeful!" This casual word has been used since the late 18th century.
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.
From social media posts clipped from livestreamed events with the astronauts to an extraordinary portfolio of celestial photographs, viewers caught an eyeful of Artemis II.
From Barron's • Apr. 11, 2026
“He’s an eyeful, he’s handsome, he’s beautiful,” said Tom Ryan, who heads the ownership group.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2025
Stellar convinced the man to lift his T-shirt for a photo, and in return Stellar got an eyeful of chest and colorful bird tattoos, a picture Stellar later named “I Got Birds Too.”
From New York Times • May 3, 2024
The next day, drive back the way you came, to give passengers an eyeful along the route — and see everything you missed the day before.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 26, 2022
Even this G-rated eyeful of parental affection makes me uncomfortable.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
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.
