"eye up" meaning in English

See eye up in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: en-au-eye up.ogg Forms: eyes up [present, singular, third-person], eyeing up [participle, present], eying up [participle, present], eyed up [participle, past], eyed up [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|<+,+:eying>}} eye up (third-person singular simple present eyes up, present participle eyeing up or eying up, simple past and past participle eyed up)
  1. (idiomatic, colloquial) To examine closely something coveted. Tags: colloquial, idiomatic Synonyms: give someone the eye, eyeball
    Sense id: en-eye_up-en-verb-T8JLkufO Categories (other): Terms with Polish translations Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 45 55
  2. (idiomatic, colloquial) To examine casually by eye, with little or no measuring or testing. Tags: colloquial, idiomatic Synonyms: eyeball
    Sense id: en-eye_up-en-verb-fhFXUHzI Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs formed with "up", Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Lithuanian translations, Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Romagnol translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 28 72 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs formed with "up": 30 70 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 42 58 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 27 73 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 27 73 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 40 60 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 38 62 Disambiguation of Terms with Lithuanian translations: 39 61 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations: 40 60 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 45 55 Disambiguation of Terms with Romagnol translations: 38 62
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Translations (To examine): beglo (Danish), adocchiare (Italian), tyrinėti (Lithuanian), beglo (Norwegian Bokmål), taksować [imperfective] (Polish), aducêr (Romagnol), ducêr (Romagnol)
Disambiguation of 'To examine': 54 46

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "eyes up",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "eyeing up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "eying up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "eyed up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "eyed up",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "<+,+:eying>"
      },
      "expansion": "eye up (third-person singular simple present eyes up, present participle eyeing up or eying up, simple past and past participle eyed up)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "45 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              29,
              35
            ],
            [
              39,
              41
            ]
          ],
          "text": "That creep in the corner was eyeing me up.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              12,
              21
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The dog was eyeing up my steak.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              63,
              70
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 April 16, Howard Johnston, “Regional News: Wales”, in RAIL, number 1033, page 25:",
          "text": "Llanelli: An empty piece of land south of the station is being eyed up by Carmarthenshire Council, to create a better interchange for buses and taxis, and to build a car park.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              174,
              183
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 December 24, Andy Comfort, “Signalling a change in training”, in RAIL, number 1051, page 28:",
          "text": "Sitting in one of the booths (with table and comfy seats) in the open plan ground floor reception, Network Rail Business Change Manager Sarah Newman explains how NR had been eyeing up the building in late 2024, with work starting on site in August 2025.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To examine closely something coveted."
      ],
      "id": "en-eye_up-en-verb-T8JLkufO",
      "links": [
        [
          "examine",
          "examine"
        ],
        [
          "coveted",
          "coveted"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, colloquial) To examine closely something coveted."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "give someone the eye"
        },
        {
          "word": "eyeball"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "28 72",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 70",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs formed with \"up\"",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 58",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "27 73",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "27 73",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 60",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Danish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "38 62",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "39 61",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Lithuanian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 60",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "45 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "38 62",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Romagnol translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              91,
              94
            ],
            [
              98,
              100
            ]
          ],
          "text": "Hey, while you're there, take a look at their furnace. You don't have to inspect it — just eye it up and tell me whether it's decrepit or not.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To examine casually by eye, with little or no measuring or testing."
      ],
      "id": "en-eye_up-en-verb-fhFXUHzI",
      "links": [
        [
          "examine",
          "examine"
        ],
        [
          "by eye",
          "by eye"
        ],
        [
          "measuring",
          "measuring"
        ],
        [
          "testing",
          "testing"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, colloquial) To examine casually by eye, with little or no measuring or testing."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "eyeball"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-eye up.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d5/En-au-eye_up.ogg/En-au-eye_up.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/En-au-eye_up.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "_dis1": "54 46",
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "lang_code": "da",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "beglo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "54 46",
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "adocchiare"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "54 46",
      "code": "lt",
      "lang": "Lithuanian",
      "lang_code": "lt",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "tyrinėti"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "54 46",
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "lang_code": "nb",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "beglo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "54 46",
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "taksować"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "54 46",
      "code": "rgn",
      "lang": "Romagnol",
      "lang_code": "rgn",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "aducêr"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "54 46",
      "code": "rgn",
      "lang": "Romagnol",
      "lang_code": "rgn",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "ducêr"
    }
  ],
  "word": "eye up"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs formed with \"up\"",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Lithuanian translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Romagnol translations"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "eyes up",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "eyeing up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "eying up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "eyed up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "eyed up",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "<+,+:eying>"
      },
      "expansion": "eye up (third-person singular simple present eyes up, present participle eyeing up or eying up, simple past and past participle eyed up)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English colloquialisms",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
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          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              29,
              35
            ],
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              39,
              41
            ]
          ],
          "text": "That creep in the corner was eyeing me up.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              12,
              21
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The dog was eyeing up my steak.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              63,
              70
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 April 16, Howard Johnston, “Regional News: Wales”, in RAIL, number 1033, page 25:",
          "text": "Llanelli: An empty piece of land south of the station is being eyed up by Carmarthenshire Council, to create a better interchange for buses and taxis, and to build a car park.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              174,
              183
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2025 December 24, Andy Comfort, “Signalling a change in training”, in RAIL, number 1051, page 28:",
          "text": "Sitting in one of the booths (with table and comfy seats) in the open plan ground floor reception, Network Rail Business Change Manager Sarah Newman explains how NR had been eyeing up the building in late 2024, with work starting on site in August 2025.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To examine closely something coveted."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "examine",
          "examine"
        ],
        [
          "coveted",
          "coveted"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, colloquial) To examine closely something coveted."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "give someone the eye"
        },
        {
          "word": "eyeball"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English colloquialisms",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              91,
              94
            ],
            [
              98,
              100
            ]
          ],
          "text": "Hey, while you're there, take a look at their furnace. You don't have to inspect it — just eye it up and tell me whether it's decrepit or not.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To examine casually by eye, with little or no measuring or testing."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "examine",
          "examine"
        ],
        [
          "by eye",
          "by eye"
        ],
        [
          "measuring",
          "measuring"
        ],
        [
          "testing",
          "testing"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, colloquial) To examine casually by eye, with little or no measuring or testing."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "eyeball"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-eye up.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d5/En-au-eye_up.ogg/En-au-eye_up.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/En-au-eye_up.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "lang_code": "da",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "beglo"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "adocchiare"
    },
    {
      "code": "lt",
      "lang": "Lithuanian",
      "lang_code": "lt",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "tyrinėti"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "lang_code": "nb",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "beglo"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "taksować"
    },
    {
      "code": "rgn",
      "lang": "Romagnol",
      "lang_code": "rgn",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "aducêr"
    },
    {
      "code": "rgn",
      "lang": "Romagnol",
      "lang_code": "rgn",
      "sense": "To examine",
      "word": "ducêr"
    }
  ],
  "word": "eye up"
}

Download raw JSONL data for eye up meaning in English (4.1kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-03-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-03-03 using wiktextract (05c257f and 9d9a410). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.