keep one's eye on the ball

Idioms

Remain alert and attentive, as in The research director told her students to keep their eye on the ball when it came to accurate footnotes. This expression alludes to numerous sports in which players must watch a ball's path. [c. 1900]

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.

He is not against missiles, though sometimes quoted as being so, but he feels that in air warfare it is always necessary to keep one's eye on the ball, not on the distant future.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023