Collocations for eye - noun

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

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. | protectSkiers 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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

~ for
Her skill at working with wood is coupled to a keen eye for design.

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

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.

in your mind''s eye
(= your imagination) He pictured the scene in his mind''s eye.