"take one's eye off the ball" meaning in English

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "keep one's eye on the ball"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From general sporting advice to look continuously at the ball as it moves.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "takes one's eye off the ball",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taking one's eye off the ball",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "took one's eye off the ball",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taken one's eye off the ball",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "take<,,took,taken> one's eye off the ball"
      },
      "expansion": "take one's eye off the ball (third-person singular simple present takes one's eye off the ball, present participle taking one's eye off the ball, simple past took one's eye off the ball, past participle taken one's eye off the ball)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "One of the keys to success in business is never to take your eye off the ball.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 December 14, Barry Doe, “NRT review meets Christmas deadlines”, in RAIL, number 972, page 43",
          "text": "But I regret the eye has been off the ball in recent years, and reliability, as well as service provision, is poor.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To lose one's concentration on what is most important."
      ],
      "id": "en-take_one's_eye_off_the_ball-en-verb-KcaHFhha",
      "links": [
        [
          "concentration",
          "concentration"
        ],
        [
          "important",
          "important"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To lose one's concentration on what is most important."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "drop the ball"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-take one's eye off the ball.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/57/En-au-take_one%27s_eye_off_the_ball.ogg/En-au-take_one%27s_eye_off_the_ball.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/En-au-take_one%27s_eye_off_the_ball.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "take one's eye off the ball"
}

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "keep one's eye on the ball"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From general sporting advice to look continuously at the ball as it moves.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "takes one's eye off the ball",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taking one's eye off the ball",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "took one's eye off the ball",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "taken one's eye off the ball",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "take<,,took,taken> one's eye off the ball"
      },
      "expansion": "take one's eye off the ball (third-person singular simple present takes one's eye off the ball, present participle taking one's eye off the ball, simple past took one's eye off the ball, past participle taken one's eye off the ball)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "drop the ball"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "One of the keys to success in business is never to take your eye off the ball.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 December 14, Barry Doe, “NRT review meets Christmas deadlines”, in RAIL, number 972, page 43",
          "text": "But I regret the eye has been off the ball in recent years, and reliability, as well as service provision, is poor.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To lose one's concentration on what is most important."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "concentration",
          "concentration"
        ],
        [
          "important",
          "important"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To lose one's concentration on what is most important."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-take one's eye off the ball.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/57/En-au-take_one%27s_eye_off_the_ball.ogg/En-au-take_one%27s_eye_off_the_ball.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/En-au-take_one%27s_eye_off_the_ball.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "take one's eye off the ball"
}