to catch someone's eye

Examples

• All

• Different items will catch students' eyes as they go through this process.

  Academic text (1993)

• His hand had been in the air to catch the waiter's eye while she was talking.

  Fiction book (1995)

• Then, suddenly, something catches Jim's eye - he tracks it across the room.

  Fiction book (1995)

• Scarlett tried to catch Jamie's eye, failed, and finally called out to get his attention.

  Fiction book (1991)

• A glimmer of pink under a bush caught Elizabeth's eye.

  Fiction book (2000)

• Lando waited until everyone had been served, took a bite of steak, and caught Wendy's eye.

  Fiction book (1991)

• A brief flicker of black on the opposite staircase caught Trina's eye.

  Fiction book (2000)

• The limo guys nod to Chili, and Chili nods back, trying to catch Harry's eye.

  Fiction book (1995)

• The vibrant colors of the painting really caught someone's eye at the gallery.

• Her unique hairstyle always catches people's eyes when she walks into a room.

Synonyms

A

to attract

vsto catch someone's eye

991 1.9

Make people notice or want something

is narrower stressing being unusual or specially noticeable to draw notice

F

to fascinate

vsto catch someone's eye

238 3.4

To attract and hold someone's strong interest or attention

starts with an immediate striking quality that first attracts notice

A

to appeal

vsto catch someone's eye

232 3.1

Be attractive or interesting to someone

depends more on being unusually noticeable to catch immediate notice

I

to intrigue

vsto catch someone's eye

143 5.1

To make someone curious or interested

focuses on being noticeable or unusual to first draw attention

D

to draw attention

vsto catch someone's eye

71 2.5

To make people notice something or someone

relies more on being striking or unusual to catch attention

S

to stick out

vsto catch someone's eye

34 3.0

To be easy to notice because it is different

adds that the difference is often interesting or unusual to attract attention

C

to call attention

vsto catch someone's eye

29 2.9

To make people notice something important

depends more on the thing itself being striking or unusual without prompting

P

to pique

vsto catch someone's eye

26 4.7

To make someone want to know more

is more about being noticeably odd or striking to attract attention

J

to jump out

vsto catch someone's eye

23 3.4

Easy to notice because it looks different or bright

also stresses being striking but with an added sense of being interesting

C

to catch someone's attention

vsto catch someone's eye

22 2.8

Make someone notice you or something

is more about being unusual or especially noticeable to draw attention

C

to captivate

vsto catch someone's eye

19 4.2

To attract and hold someone's full attention

begins with being noticeable or unusual to get initial attention

G

to gain attention

vsto catch someone's eye

11 3.0

To get noticed and make people interested

is more about sudden or striking notice from distinct qualities

T

to turn heads

vsto catch someone's eye

• Informal

7 4.4

To attract a lot of attention because of how you look or what you wear

is similar but centers on being striking or unusual, not just admiration

G

to grab someone's attention

vsto catch someone's eye

3 3.3

Make someone notice something quickly and feel interested

is similar but focuses on being interesting or unusual rather than sudden force

C

to command attention

vsto catch someone's eye

3 3.9

To make people look at or listen to you

often comes from being simply noticeable or unusually interesting rather than authority

L

to leap out

vsto catch someone's eye

2 3.9

To be very noticeable and attract attention

is similar but emphasizes being unusual or attention grabbing in style

C

to capture attention

vsto catch someone's eye

1 3.2

To attract and keep people's interest

aims more at first notice through novelty or distinctiveness

T

to turn someone's head

vsto catch someone's eye

1 4.9

Make people notice you because they admire or are surprised by you

leans more on being noticeably unusual or interesting rather than general admiration

S

to seduce an audience

vsto catch someone's eye

1 6.7

Make an audience like you and pay close attention

is more about being visually or unusually noticeable to grab attention

S

to snag one's attention

vsto catch someone's eye

1 4.4

Make someone notice something

is more specific about being unusual or particularly noticeable to attract notice

A

to arouse interest

vsto catch someone's eye

3.8

To make someone feel curious about something and want to know more

relies more on visible distinctiveness to pull initial notice

R

to ring someone's bell

vsto catch someone's eye

• Informal

8.2

To strongly attract or excite someone

is similar but focuses on noticeable oddness rather than emotional excitement

Antonyms

O

to overlook

243 2.9

To not notice someone or something you should see

How Noticeable

to dazzle

63 4.1

to stand out

244 3.2

to catch someone's eye

8 2.7

to draw

944 2.1

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology