💎 A shiny gemstone 🚧 A road reflector

cat's eye

3.4

A small object that reflects light, like a road marker or glass marble

noun
/kæts aɪ/

: ojo de gato

The driver noticed that the cat's eye reflectors helped guide him safely through the darkened road.

Examples

But she liked this one because the bench had a knothole, and she looked through it and saw a cat's-eye marble in the grass underneath.

Fiction book (2000)
"I'll do whatever I think is best," Adriane called out, and then felt compelled to add: "You know, some poor kid lost that cat's-eye marble."

Fiction book (2000)
During the game, she admired the cat's eye marble she found, which had a beautiful green core.
The construction crew installed cat's eye reflectors along the highway to improve night visibility.

Synonyms

marker

vscat's eye

86 1.0

An object placed to show a position, boundary or route

is a small reflective item used specifically in roads or as a marble

Surface Forms

cat's eye singular

cat's eyes plural

Morphology

cat's + eye

The phrase evokes a resemblance to a cat's eye (shiny/reflective), so a learner who knows 'cat' and 'eye' can plausibly infer it names something that looks or shines like an eye. However, the specific conventional referents (a road reflector or a particular type of marble) are lexicalized senses that are not fully predictable from the parts alone, making the expression only partially transparent.

Etymology

Cat's eye comes from small glass reflectors and marbles that 'shine back' at night like a cat's eyes in the dark, because they send headlights straight back to the driver. So, the name is used for both the road marker and the marble that look the same.