eye

/aɪ/

/aɪ/

Other forms: eyes; eyed; eyeing; eying

An eye is the part of your body that makes it possible for you to see. When your eyes are closed, you can no longer see — until you open them again.

Most animals have eyes, and while having two eyes is most common, some spiders have eight. Your eyes are sense organs, and unless you're visually impaired, they enable you to see the world around you. The tiny hole in a needle is also an eye, and when you look at someone, you eye them. To lay eyes on something is to see it for the first time, and when you keep an eye on someone, you observe them carefully.

Definitions of eye

1. noun

   the organ of sight
   synonyms: oculus, optic

   types:

   naked eye

   the eye unaided by any optical instrument that alters the power of vision or alters the apparent size or distance of objects

   peeper

   an informal term referring to the eye

   OD, oculus dexter

   the right eye

   OS, oculus sinister

   the left eye

   ocellus, simple eye, stemma

   an eye having a single lens

   compound eye

   in insects and some crustaceans: composed of many light-sensitive elements each forming a portion of an image

   ommatidium

   any of the numerous small cone-shaped eyes that make up the compound eyes of some arthropods

   type of:

   receptor, sense organ, sensory receptor

   an organ having nerve endings (in the skin or eye or ear or nose or mouth) that respond to stimulation
2. noun

   good discernment (either visually or as if visually)
   “she has an eye for fresh talent”

   “he has an artist's eye”

   type of:

   discernment, judgement, judgment, sagaciousness, sagacity

   the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations
3. noun

   attention to what is seen
   “he tried to catch her eye”

   type of:

   attending, attention

   the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
4. verb

   look at
   synonyms: eyeball

   type of:

   look

   perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
5. noun

   a small hole or loop (as in a needle)
   “the thread wouldn't go through the eye”

   type of:

   hole

   an opening deliberately made in or through something
6. noun

   an area that is approximately central within some larger region
   “they were in the eye of the storm”

   synonyms: center, centre, heart, middle

   examples:

   City of London

   the part of London situated within the ancient boundaries; the commercial and financial center of London

   types:

   center stage, centre stage

   the central area on a theater stage

   central city, city center, city centre

   the central part of a city

   storm center, storm centre

   the central area or place of lowest barometric pressure within a storm

   financial center

   the part of a city where financial institutions are centered

   hub

   a center of activity or interest or commerce or transportation; a focal point around which events revolve

   inner city

   the older and more populated and (usually) poorer central section of a city

   medical center

   the part of a city where medical facilities are centered

   midfield

   (sports) the middle part of a playing field (as in football or lacrosse)

   seat

   a center of authority (as a city from which authority is exercised)

   midstream

   the middle of a stream

   capital

   a seat of government

   civic center, down town, municipal center

   the center of a city

   county courthouse, county seat

   the town or city that is the seat of government for a county

   county town, shire town

   the town or city that is the seat of government for a shire

   see

   the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located

   type of:

   area, country

   a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography)