eyeball

1 of 3

noun

eye·​ball ˈī-ˌbȯl How to pronounce eyeball (audio)
1
: the more or less globular capsule of the vertebrate eye formed by the sclera and cornea together with their contained structures
2
eyeballs plural : people who view something (such as an advertisement)
websites competing for eyeballs

eyeball

2 of 3

verb

eyeballed; eyeballing; eyeballs

transitive verb

: to look at intently especially in making an evaluation or choice
diners eyeballing the menu
eyeball the competition

eyeball

3 of 3

adjective

: based on observation
eyeball judgment

Examples of eyeball in a Sentence

Verb The children were eyeballing the desserts.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
While the streaming film (and a subsequent documentary about its creation) made headlines and courted viewer eyeballs according to Amazon streaming lists, This Is Me... Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2024 How did Netflix defend its bulwark when there are still multiple streaming services fighting for eyeballs? Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024 Rather, humans seemed to understand that, in the attention economy, clicks and eyeballs were their own rewards. Ben Crair, The New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2024 Outward-facing cameras offer a real-time view of users’ surroundings, while two small screens—situated directly in front of their eyeballs—simultaneously display an interactive digital realm. Lauren Leffer, Scientific American, 21 Feb. 2024 Could Swift-Kelce be bringing more eyeballs to all playoff games? Francesca Paris, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2024 The series is Food Network’s latest splashy project made to draw eyeballs to its linear channel amid an ongoing cable ratings slump and ad sales decline. Jennifer Maas, Variety, 29 Feb. 2024 Most of his videos draw hundreds of thousands of eyeballs. Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal, 19 Feb. 2024 There are four main SKGs that make traveling to Mars high risk: radiation, an eyeball swelling condition that occurs when people spend too much time in low-gravity situations, crew cooperation, and food and nutrition, reported CNN. Devika Rao, theweek, 19 Jan. 2024
Verb
At the Vons in Eagle Rock, Sylvia Millis and Vernon Bowman grabbed a hunk of tri-tip, a cheaper cut of meat, and considered some fresh fruit, eyeballing price tags. Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024 The chief scout behind the building of a roster that has won 36 games over the last three season took time away eyeballing prospects for the 2024 NFL Draft to expound on his decision to turn down offers from the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers. Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Feb. 2024 And eyeball your favorites from different angles, Olechowski says; something that looks great straight on may be distorted from the side. Laura Daily, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2024 The coarse-grind all-pork sausage is eyeballed for accuracy and hand-cranked and stuffed into natural casings that snap with each bite. Jill Wendholt Silva, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2024 Source: My trusty spreadsheet eyeballed 2022 Census Bureau data on what kind of housing is home to renter households across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Jonathan Lansner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Dec. 2023 For delicate and knitted fabrics, like wool and cashmere: Fill your sink with warm water and two tablespoons of white vinegar per quart of water (or just eyeball it). Boutayna Chokrane, Vogue, 11 Dec. 2023 In either case, Google's computing all this using its own data spares cities from having to collect their own—whether automatically through sensors or manually through laborious counts—and also from having to calculate or eyeball their own adjustments. Paresh Dave, WIRED, 10 Oct. 2023 Cons This vacuum seal storage bag doesn’t have a stop line on the bag, which can be tricky to eyeball. Lindsay Tigar, Peoplemag, 15 Aug. 2023
Adjective
Godsmack plans to cover North America primarily this year, then eyeball other territories during 2024. Gary Graff, Billboard, 24 Feb. 2023 Those cross currents leave the stock market poised for a choppy start to the year as investors rely on incoming economic data and eyeball historical trends for clues. Jessica Menton, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2023 Lean into the season even more with eyeball ice cubes that can be frozen the night before. Anna Luisa Rodriguez, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2022 From eyeball digging and pumpkin bowling to spooky musical chairs and pumpkin golf, these fun ideas are great for all ages. Mariah Thomas, Good Housekeeping, 5 Oct. 2022 This kit comes with 121 balloons — a mix of black, orange and eyeball balloons — which is more than enough to build a statement-making Halloween balloon arch. Larry Stansbury, Good Housekeeping, 28 Sep. 2022 Sure, in some locales there is an eyeball war that takes place. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 15 June 2022 Not that the Spartans aren’t already eyeball deep in it, with their annual nonconference gauntlet slowly coming to an end. Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 7 Dec. 2021 An assortment of artwork on the walls, ranging from an eyeball abstract and alligator collage to photos of buoys and herons. Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 18 Aug. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eyeball.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1575, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1901, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1914, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of eyeball was in 1575

Dictionary Entries Near eyeball

Cite this Entry

“Eyeball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eyeball. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

eyeball

noun
eye·​ball
ˈī-ˌbȯl
: the eye of a vertebrate

Medical Definition

eyeball

noun
eye·​ball ˈī-ˌbȯl How to pronounce eyeball (audio)
: the more or less globular capsule of the vertebrate eye formed by the sclera and cornea together with their contained structures

More from Merriam-Webster on eyeball

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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