eyeball

• eye-ball (obsolete)

From eye +‎ ball. Compare Middle English balle off the eye, balle of þe eyȝe (“eyeball”, literally “ball of the eye”).

• Audio (US)

  (file)

eyeball (plural eyeballs)

1. The ball of the eye.
   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii], page 4, column 2:

     Goe make thy ſelfe like a Nymph o' th' Sea.
     Be ſubiect to no ſight but thine, and mine: inuisible
     To euery eye-ball elſe: goe take this ſhape,
     And hither come in't: goe: hence
     With diligence.

2. A person's focus of attention.
3. (marketing, in the plural) A readership or viewership.

   We need compelling content for the new Web site so we can attract more eyeballs.

   • 2022 October 17, Stuart Heritage, “Now it’s over, let’s come out and say it: The Rings of Power was a stinker”, in The Guardian‎:

     When The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuted at the same time as House of the Dragon, much noise was made about which show attracted more eyeballs.

4. (CB radio, slang) A face-to-face meeting.

   We had an eyeball last year.

5. (Caribbean) A favourite or pet; the apple of someone's eye.

• eye-apple

eyeball (third-person singular simple present eyeballs, present participle eyeballing, simple past and past participle eyeballed)

1. (transitive, informal) To gauge, estimate or judge by eye, rather than measuring precisely; to look or glance at.

   A good cook can often just eyeball the correct quantities of ingredients.

   Each geometric construction must be exact; eyeballing it and getting close does not count.

2. (transitive, informal) To scrutinize.

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

3. (transitive, informal) To stare at intently.

   Are you eyeballing my girl?

4. (intransitive) To roll one's eyes.
   • 2018 April 10, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian (London)‎:

     Guardiola strode on to the pitch at half-time to remonstrate with the Spanish referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, but went too far with his eyeballing and matador-like hand movements. He was “upstairs”, in the Colin Bell stand, to watch Liverpool’s second-half turnaround and a dismal seven days for City take another turn for the worse.

• eyeballer

• bums in seats
• click-through