eyeful

English

Alternative forms

  • eye-full

Pronunciation

  • Audio (US):(file)

Etymology 1

From eye +‎ -ful.

Noun

eyeful (plural eyefuls or eyesful)

  1. A full or complete view; a good look.
  2. (sometimes ironic) A remarkable sight or a very attractive person.
  3. Enough material to fill one's eye.
    I could barely see through two eyefuls of dust.
    an eyeful of tears
  4. (informal) A brief period of sleep; forty winks.
    • 2021, Will Fey, Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS: 1943–45, page 272:
      We pulled our heavy overcoats tightly around us, shivering, and put our heads down as the din of fighting stopped for a while to grab an eyeful of sleep.

Etymology 2

From eye +‎ -ful.

Adjective

eyeful (comparative more eyeful, superlative most eyeful)

  1. Filling or attractive to the eye; visible; remarkable.
    • 2000, Homer, Iliad and the Odyssey:
      With this, he hung them up aloft, upon a tamrick bough, As eyeful trophies [...]

Middle English

The spelling of this entry has been normalized according to the principles established by Wiktionary's editor community or recent spelling standards of the language.

Alternative forms

Etymology

From eye (fear) +‎ -ful (-ful). Compare aweful.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈæi̯(ə)ful/

Adjective

eyeful

  1. (rare) horrific, frightening

References