bird's-eye view
3
3.5
- noun
- /ˈbɜrdz aɪ vju/
:
vista panorámica
- A view from turn one offers a bird's-eye view of the Circuit of the Americas track.
- get a bird's-eye view
- give a bird's-eye view
- bird's-eye view of a city
Examples
-
I love films that open with a bird's-eye view of a recognizable landmark, say the Golden Gate Bridge, and then have the camera zoom in close among cars and people on the busy streets.
Academic text (2010) -
I'll have a bird's-eye view from up here.
-
The first map I saw of Los Angeles was a bird's-eye view from the ocean all the way to the desert.
Fiction book (1993) -
Using stuff like this will give you a great bird's-eye view of what's going on with your site.
Blog text (14) -
Would you like to get a bird's-eye view of some of the DVD content before you buy?
Blog text (2) -
In five-and-a-half hours, you've managed to see some of Florence's major landmarks, gotten a bird's-eye view of the city, sampled some of the city's food, seen quite a lot of architecture, and some public art.
Blog text (7) -
From the observation tower, we had a stunning bird's-eye view of the entire city.
-
The aerial photograph provided a clear bird's-eye view of the sprawling park.
-
During the helicopter tour, we enjoyed a breathtaking bird's-eye view of the coastline.
Synonyms
61
5.3
A beautiful view seen from a high place or through a window
8
4.2
A view from above that shows the whole area or situation
8
4.8
A wide clear view of a large area seen from a high place
5
3.7
A wide way of looking at a place, situation, or topic from a high position
2
4.3
What you see from a high place or from a position of power
How High
- Specialized
3
3.8
11
3.4
3
3.5
- Specialized
10
3.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
bird's-eye + view
The meaning 'a view from above' is directly derivable from combining the image of a 'bird's-eye' (the perspective of a bird high above) with 'view' (the scene seen). This compositional metaphor is common across languages and follows standard possessive+noun logic, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Bird's-eye view imagines how a bird's eye sees the land from high in the sky, with everything small and the whole area visible at once. That's why the phrase means 'a view from above' or 'a broad, complete look'.