eyelash
Americannoun
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one of the short, thick, curved hairs growing as a fringe on the edge of an eyelid.
-
the fringe of hairs itself.
noun
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any one of the short curved hairs that grow from the edge of the eyelids
-
a row or fringe of these hairs
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of eyelash
Explanation
An eyelash is a hair that grows from your top or bottom eyelid. Try batting or fluttering your eyelashes to get attention. You'll either get what you want or look silly, or both. Eyelashes are small, usually dark and curved, and having plenty of long, lush eyelashes is considered attractive in everyone, male or female. The combination of your blinking eyelids and the fringe of eyelashes helps keep small particles out of your eyes — and eyelashes are sensitive in a similar way to a cat's whiskers, so that your eyes will shut reflexively when some object comes too close.
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:
Many species are no wider than an eyelash and typically grow close to the ground in damp, shaded environments.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 1, 2026
Years later, when my salary broke six figures, I found myself dropping $20 on a fancy cocktail without batting a designer-mascaraed eyelash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
Any pretension exhibited was earned with the grace of a batted eyelash and a knowing smirk.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2025
With her collection of wigs, eyelash extensions and spray-tanned body, the 54-year-old made for a visually intriguing subject.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2024
That Og could afford to charter three different jets to retrieve us without batting an eyelash was a testament to just how insanely wealthy he must be.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
One senior party figure told me: "The eyelashes will deliver for a day, maybe a week. But the scrutiny is brutal. Won't last three months, never mind three years."
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Pink poodles with long black eyelashes danced in a can-can line, a quartet of googly-eyed cacti bobbed along to the music and a trio of small white dogs galloped on the stage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
Here he is as arresting theorizing about the origins of “The Goon Show,” which he traces to the trauma of World War II, as he is contemplating the quality of Liza Minnelli’s eyelashes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
But the SylvanianDrama TikTok account sees the creatures in costumes and fake eyelashes, with captions saying things like "My marriage is falling apart" and "My boyfriend won't post me on Instagram".
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2025
He could count the eyelashes framing her eyes.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
