Eye Idioms

This eye idioms list will be updated whenever I create a new mini lesson that includes some of these expressions.

It's easiest to remember idioms if you try to practice them yourself. At the bottom of this page is a place where you can write your own sentence. If you do, I'll be sure to give you feedback. :)

List of Eye Idioms

EYE

apple of one's eye: someone or something that is very important to someone; someone or something that they like very much.

I know I shouldn't pick favorites but of all my grandchildren, my first granddaughter is the apple of my eye.
As you can see, my father does a lot of gardening and those rose bushes are the apples of his eye. He's so proud of them.

a bird’s-eye view: a view from above something (just like the view a bird would see when flying over something).

From the top of the tower you can see a bird’s-eye view of the whole city.
I love hiking Old Rag mountain because you get to see a beautiful bird's-eye view of the valley from the top.
I'm scared to fly but when I do I love the bird's-eye views of all the different cities below.

catch someone’s eye: to attract or capture someone’s attention.

Helen’s mother wanted her daughter to buy the jeans that were on sale at a 40% discount but some designer jeans caught her daughter’s eye instead.
I was walking along with something shiny caught my eye. Someone had dropped their diamond wedding ring!

cry one's eyes out: to cry very hard; or cry for a long time.

Her dog died last week and she's been crying her eyes out every single day since then.
My mom cried her eyes out when I left for college.

have an eye for something: to be good at noticing and appreciating something.

My aunt has an eye for home decoration and always finds beautiful paintings and antiques at the flea market.
You certainly have an eye for beautiful women, don't you?

have one’s eye on someone: to carefully watch someone.

I’ve had my eye on my son ever since I found cigarettes in his backpack.
The salesperson had his eye on me while I was shopping and it made me feel like I was a criminal or something.

have one’s eye on something: to like something and want to obtain it.

I’ve had my eye on that handbag for a long time and will buy it as soon as I get my paycheck.

in the public eye: to be visible and known by many people in a community.

Thanks to social media, many regular people we’d never know are now in the public eye.
If you want to be an actor you better like being in the public eye.

out of the public eye: to not be seen or known by many people in a community.

Although politicians are always in the news, most try to keep their children out of the public eye as much as possible.
Many movie stars love going on vacation in other countries where they can relax and be out of the public eye for awhile.

keep an (one’s) eye on someone/something: to carefully watch someone/something.

I asked my neighbor to keep an eye on my apartment while I’m on vacation and call me if there are any problems.
I’m keeping my eye on the clock because I have to leave in exactly 15 minutes.

keep an (one’s) eye out (for someone/something): to watch carefully to see someone/something.

I’m expecting my boyfriend to meet me for lunch, so can you keep an eye out for him and let me know when he arrives at the office?
Keep an eye out for my car when you arrive at the airport. I'll keep driving around the arrivals terminal until you come out.

keep one’s eyes peeled for something: to watch carefully to see something.

We should be approaching the road to Janice’s house soon so keep your eyes peeled for Orchard Street.
Let's keep our eyes peeled for the bus so we can be the first ones on and get good seats.

keep one’s eye on the ball: to concentrate fully on doing something.

If you’re serious about losing weight you have to keep your eye on the ball and carefully count calories as well as exercise several times each week.

more (to someone/something) than meets the eye: there is some additional information than what is currently known.

I don’t know exactly what happened but there is more than meets the eye with our manager’s departure from the company.

not a dry eye (in the house): everyone is emotional and/or crying.

Yesterday at the staff meeting when Stephen announced his daughter had finally died of cancer, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

not bat an eye / eyelid: to not react to something.

Although I was shocked when my wife said she wanted a divorce I didn't bat an eyelid.
How can you just sit there calmly and not bat an eye when your boss yells like that?

see eye to eye: to agree with someone about something.

My husband and I see eye to eye on everything so we rarely argue.
Luckily, our team sees eye to eye on this project so it's been a pleasure to work on it.

not see eye to eye: to not agree with someone.

My parents are very conservative so we don’t see eye to eye on politics.
The owners didn't see eye to eye on the direction of the of the company so they finally had to sell it.

turn a blind eye (to something): to ignore something.

I knew my boyfriend was lying to me but I turned a blind eye because I didn’t want him to leave me.
You're turning a blind eye to your daughter's drinking and partying but the problem is not going to stop until she gets help.

up to one's eyeballs in something: to be very busy or involved with something or to have a lot of something.

I'm up to my eyeballs in dirty laundry and have been wearing the same pair of socks the last three days!
As usual, we don't save so we're up to our eyeballs in debt after our holiday.

EYEBROWS

raise (some / a few) eyebrows: to cause people to notice and disapprove of someone or something.

My secretary’s pink hair color raised a few eyebrows in the office but she’s so kind and such a good worker I haven’t said anything to her.
Wearing jeans to my church would certainly raise some eyebrows. Don't you have a nice pair of pants?

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You might like these idiom infographics

Looking at idioms with common words or themes can be a fun way to learn idioms. These infographics might help.

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