Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

eyeball

/ˈaɪ.bɔl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.10 in modern English

Syllables: eye-ball
IPA: /ˈaɪ.bɔl/

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The ball of the eye.

noun

An instance of eyeballing something.

noun

Informal

noun

A readership or viewership.

noun

A face-to-face meeting.

Slang

noun

A favourite or pet; the apple of someone's eye.

verb

To gauge, estimate or judge by eye, rather than measuring precisely; to look or glance at.

Informal; Transitive verb

verb

To stare at intently.

Informal; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Near-synonym: eye"
"You'll change your mind about not bothering with safety glasses once you've injured your eyeball. That's called closing the barn door after the horse gets out."
"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."
"Suddenly his eyeballs are glazed with tears. “Mom, can you come get me,” he pleads. “Yeah, ’cause I freaking hate it here.[…]”"
"Give this report an eyeball, will you please?"
"Intelligence work is necessarily limited in scope by the capacity of national surveillance systems. […] Ultimately, it is only when you have an 'eyeball' or the electronic equivalent on a suspect that you have a reasonable chance of a preventive intervention."

Etymology

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

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈaɪ.bɔl/
British English: /ˈaɪ.bɔːl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

eyeballs (plural) eye-ball (alternative, obsolete) eyeballs (present, singular) eyeballing (participle, present) eyeballed (participle, past) eyeballed (past)

Derived Forms

eyeballer

Phrases

eyeball queen eyeball to eyeball given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow hairy eyeball mark 1 eyeball my eyeball sailor's eyeball up to one's eyeballs

Frequently Paired Words

once-over examination look-see bums in seats click-through

Synonyms

globe globus globus oculi eyeglobe bulbus oculi bulbus eye eye up eye-apple

Questions

How do you pronounce eyeball?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈaɪ.bɔl/.
What does eyeball mean?: The ball of the eye.
Where does eyeball come from?: From eye + ball. Compare Middle English balle off the eye, balle of þe eyȝe (“eyeball”, literally “ball of the eye”).

How to pronounce eyeball

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “eyeball”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈaɪ.bɔl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “eyeball”.
Repeat and practice — Say “eyeball” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.