eyelash
Americannoun
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eyelashes
plural
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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
-
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:
"The smallest one I did was Shakespeare inside a hair. I couldn't paint it with an eyelash, so I had to paint it with a piece of dust."
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
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
“Excellent,” the principal said with a sly smile and a flickering series of eyelash flutters.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
In a realistic 1870s monument for a member of the Piaggio family, a dead man’s widow, shown leaving the door of a tomb, is wearing an elaborate lace shawl and mourning through her sculpted eyelashes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Daisy Kelly's business was inspired by a personal problem - for years she'd been pulling out her eyelashes.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
A furry AI pet batted its eyelashes at cooing onlookers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The assumption was that he was fluttering his eyelashes at Real Madrid.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026
He glanced at his father’s exhausted face from under his eyelashes and felt a stab of guilt, coupled with shame.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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.
