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noun part of the body ADJ. left, right | amber, blue, brown, dark, golden, green, grey, hazel | big, huge, large, enormous, wide She just looked at me with those big blue eyes of hers. His eyes were wide with horror. | narrow | close-set | wide-apart, wide-set | deep/deep-set, heavy-lidded, hollow, hooded, sunken | protuberant | beady, piggy | baggy, puffy, swollen | bleary, bloodshot, dark-ringed, exhausted, red, red-rimmed, sleepy, tired, weary Her dark-ringed eyes showed that she hadn't slept. | bright, brilliant, luminous, lustrous, sparkling, starry | clear, limpid, liquid | soft, velvety, warm | cloudy, misty, moist, rheumy, tear-filled, tearful, watery | dry | sightless, unseeing | short-sighted | half-closed, narrowed | unblinking | dazed, unfocused | mad, staring, wild | angry, cruel, fierce | anxious | greedy, hungry The dog's hungry eyes were on my sandwich. | curious, prying He drew the curtains to make sure no prying eyes saw what he was doing. | intelligent, keen, sharp, shrewd | penetrating, piercing | cold, expressionless, glassy, glazed, lifeless, steely, vacant | downcast, sad, solemn, soulful VERB + EYE open | close, shut | lift, raise | cast, turn I cast my eyes around the room but couldn't see any familiar faces. He turned his eyes to the door when he heard the handle turning. | avert She averted her eyes from his face. | screw up He screwed up his eyes against the glare of the sun. | strain I didn't want to strain my eyes to read, so I put the light on. | protect Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun. | shade, shield He held up the newspaper to shield his eyes from the sun. | test | gouge She reached up and tried to gouge her attacker's eyes. | catch A movement in the reeds caught my eye (= attracted my attention). | look sb (straight) in, meet She looked her father straight in the eye and answered his question truthfully. He seemed unwilling to meet my eye. EYE + VERB dilate, fly open, grow wide, open, round, widen Her eyes dilated with horror at what she had done. Her eyes flew open in surprise. His eyes rounded in mock amazement. | close, shut | stream, water My eyes stream when I chop onions. | hold sth His eyes held a sceptical gleam. | be alight with sth, blaze, flare, flash, gleam, glint, glisten, glitter, glow, light up, shine, smoulder, spark, sparkle, twinkle She laughed, her eyes alight with excitement. His eyes blazed with menace. | mirror sth, reflect sth His eyes reflected his anguish. | blur, cloud, brim/fill with tears, mist | darken, dim, dull, glaze (over) Her eyes glazed over when I said I worked in dictionaries. | harden His eyes hardened as he remembered how they had laughed at him. | narrow, sharpen | burn, hurt, prick, prickle, smart, sting Her eyes prickled with unshed tears. | be drawn to sb/sth, follow sb/sth, turn to sb/sth His eyes were drawn to a bundle of papers in the corner. My eyes followed his every move. | fall on sb/sth, settle on sb/sth | dwell on sb/sth, fasten on sb/sth, fix on sb/sth, be fixed on sb/sth, be intent on sb/sth, focus on sb/sth, gaze (up) at sb/sth, be glued to sb/sth, linger on sb/sth, lock on sb/sth, rest on sb/sth, be riveted on/to sb/sth, stare (at) sb/sth, be trained on sb/sth, watch sb/sth She tried to sit up, her eyes fixed on Jean's face. | look at sb/sth, peer at sb/sth, regard sb/sth | glare at sb/sth | lock (together), meet Their eyes locked together in a battle of wills. | dart, flick, flicker, flit, glance, go, leap, move, run, shift His eyes darted from face to face. | roll, swivel She tried the door, her eyes rolling in panic. | dance Her eyes danced with amusement. | roam, rove He let his eyes roam round the scene. | drift, slide, slip, stray, wander His eyes drifted over to Helen's chair. | probe sth, rake sth, scan sth, scour sth, search sth, sweep sth His eyes scanned the room as he entered. | drop, fall, lower Her eyes dropped to her lap as she answered. | lift | bore into sb, lance (through) sb, pierce sb She could feel the old lady's eyes bore into her. | accustom to sth, adjust to sth, become/grow accustomed to sth As my eyes accustomed to the darkness, I could make out a shape by the window. | blink | crinkle (up), squint, wrinkle His eyes crinkled up at the corners as he smiled. Her eyes squinted against the brightness. | strain My eyes strained to make anything out in the darkness. | slant | bulge, pop His eyes bulged in fury. | betray sb/sth, give away sb/sth His narrow eyes betrayed his impatience. | question sb, quiz sb | smile | mock sb | appraise sb/sth, examine sb/sth, scrutinize sb/sth, study sb/sth, survey sb/sth | take sth in My eyes took in every detail as I entered the house for the first time in twenty years. EYE + NOUN muscles, socket | contact I knew he was lying because he wouldn't make eye contact with me. | movement Rapid eye movements frequently accompany dreaming. | doctor, specialist, surgeon | hospital | operation, surgery, treatment | examination, test | complaint, damage, defect, disease, disorder, infection, injury, strain, trouble | drops The doctor gave me eye drops to put in three times a day. | protection It is essential to wear some form of eye protection. | make-up | level Your computer screen should be at eye level so that you can work with your neck straight. PREP. in your ~s There were tears in his eyes as he spoke. The sun was in my eyes and I couldn't see the road. | under sb's ~ I want you under my eye (= where I can see you). PHRASES as far as the eye can see The tide was out, leaving nothing but mud as far as the eye could see. | before your very eyes Before our very eyes, the bird snatched the fish from the plate and flew off. | can't keep/take your eyes off sb/sth He couldn't keep his eyes off the girl sitting opposite him. | cast/raise/roll your eyes heavenwards (= to show that you are annoyed or impatient) She rolled her eyes heavenwards when she saw what her husband was wearing. | a gleam/glint/twinkle in sb's eye He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. | have an eye on sb/sth (= be watching) The store detective had his eye on a group of boys who were acting suspiciously. | keep an eye on sb/sth (= watch) Could you keep an eye on my bag while I go to the toilet? | keep an eye open/out for sb/sth (= watch out for) I walked round the shops, keeping an eye out for bargains. | out of the corner of your eye Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Harry start forward. | set eyes on sb/sth From the moment he set eyes on her he knew that he wanted to marry her. | to/with the naked/unaided eye The planet should be visible to the naked eye (= without a telescope). | under sb's critical, watchful, etc. eye The team went through their paces under their trainer's critical eye. | with your own eyes If I hadn't seen his jump with my own eyes, I would never have believed it possible. ability to see ADJ. eagle, good, keen, quick, sharp The children's eagle eyes spotted an ice-cream shop half a mile away. A surgeon needs a good eye and a steady hand. PREP. ~ for Her skill at working with wood is coupled to a keen eye for design. way of seeing ADJ. careful, cautious, close, suspicious, wary, watchful | critical, stern | jaundiced | fresh, new He saw his students with new eyes now that he had a child of his own. | kindly, sympathetic | fatherly | discerning | experienced, expert, practised To an expert eye, the painting is an obvious fake. | inexperienced, untrained | artistic PREP. in sb/sth's ~ She can do no wrong in his eyes. In the eyes of the law his knife was an offensive weapon. | through sb's ~s You need to look at your website through the user's eyes. | to sb's ~ To my eye, the windows seem out of proportion. | with a … ~ She viewed the findings with a critical eye. | with the ~ of He looked at the design with the eye of an engineer. PHRASES in your mind's eye (= your imagination) He pictured the scene in his mind's eye., verb ADV. keenly, narrowly, sharply, shrewdly | curiously, speculatively, thoughtfully | carefully, cautiously, suspiciously, warily | doubtfully, uncertainly | coldly, contemptuously, coolly | greedily, hungrily The children eyed the cakes greedily.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary