👀 Large eyes 🚗 Big round lights

bug-eye

7.4

A person or object with big eyes that stick out, like a car headlight

noun
/ˈbʌɡ aɪ/

: bug-eye

The car's headlights were very large, resembling bug-eyes in the dark.

Examples

Tall and skinny, black like his mama, with great big bug eyes.

Fiction book (1999)
The cartoon character had huge bug-eyes that made him look comical.
She wore oversized glasses that gave her a bug-eye appearance.

Antonyms

subtle

276 6.0

Not easy to notice or understand because it is small

How Protruding

starting

7.5

bug-eye

7.4

wide-eyed

27 3.4

Surface Forms

bug-eye singular

bug-eyes plural

Morphology

bug-eye = bug + eye (transparent) = bug + eye

A direct compound denoting a person or thing with eyes (or headlights) resembling those of a bug, easily inferred by learners.

Etymology

Bug-eye comes from bug 'insect' and eye 'eye' because insect eyes stick out. So a bug-eye can mean a person or thing with big, sticking-out eyes, or even car headlights that look like insect eyes.