wink of an eye
1
3.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
en un abrir y cerrar de ojos
- The Batmobile screams past in the wink of an eye.
Examples
-
I turned around, and in the wink of an eye, my dog had stolen my sandwich.
-
In the wink of an eye, he attacks, leaping on her.
Fiction book (1996) -
Spring seems like light years away, but with the way time is traveling lately, it will be here in a wink of an eye.
Blog text (3) -
She was up and around the glass-topped desk in the wink of an eye.
Fiction book (1991) -
Having made this declaration, the noble, sorrowful, and mighty Frederick, the lawful ruler of all the lands of this region, ordered rose water to be brought, rinsed his hands in it, and in the wink of an eye vanished.
Fiction book (1998) -
♪ By wishing on another lucky star ♪ Life goes on ♪ As sure as the sky ♪ It's come and gone ♪ In the wink of an eye ♪ You leave your home ♪ On the wings of a lie ♪ You will never die ♪ The world is cold ♪ A heart gets torn and tattered ♪ The one you hold ♪ It can be dropped and shattered ♪ Leanin' out the window of my car ♪ And wishing on another lucky star
-
♪ Life goes on ♪ Sure as the sky ♪ It's come and gone ♪ In the wink of an eye ♪ You leave your home ♪ On the wings of a lie ♪ You will never die ♪ The world is cold ♪ A heart gets torn and tattered ♪ The one you hold ♪ It can be dropped and shattered ♪ Leanin' out the window of my car ♪ And wishin' on another lucky star
-
The children finished their homework in the wink of an eye and ran outside to play.
-
The fireworks lit up the sky, and in a wink of an eye, they were gone.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Quickly and without warning
50
3.3
Very quickly, in almost no time
35
2.5
Very quickly in a single moment
35
2.8
A very short moment that passes almost instantly
3
3.0
It happens very quickly with little effort
1
3.8
A very short time when things change suddenly
1
3.5
Very quickly, in an instant
1
3.2
A very short moment like the quick closing and opening of an eyelid
1
2.0
Happen very fast
Happen very quickly in the short time it takes to blink an eye
Very quickly, in almost no time
Happens very quickly
In a very short time
Antonyms
How Quick
- Informal
1
3.8
- Informal
50
3.3
- Informal
35
2.5
54
1.7
53
2.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'very quickly' is directly derivable from the constituents: 'wink' denotes a very short action or instant and 'of an eye' locates that instant to an eye action, so the combined phrase straightforwardly means a very brief time. This construction is also cross-linguistically common (e.g., French 'en un clin d'œil'), so a B1 learner who knows the words would readily infer the idiom's meaning.
Etymology
The expression wink of an eye comes from the tiny, quick action of closing one eye. A wink happens almost instantly, so the phrase means 'in an extremely short time'.