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Glite Dictionary
eye cup

eye cup

6.7
A small cup that fits around the eye to rinse it or put medicine in it
  • noun
  • /aɪ kʌp/
  • Specialized
translation icon : copa ocular
  • To clean your eyes, fill the eye cup with saline and tilt your head back.

Examples

  • After filling the eye cup with saline, he gently leaned forward to bathe his eye.

  • I bought two eye cups for my eye wash.

  • She used an eye cup to rinse out the dust from her irritated eye.

  • The pharmacist recommended an eye cup for applying the prescription solution.

  • The doctor recommended using an eye cup for the treatment.

  • The doctor handed me an eye cup to help apply the medicated solution to my eye.

  • She used an eye cup to rinse her eyes after they became irritated.

Synonyms

eyecup
vseye cup
  • Specialized
7.5

A small cup with a curved rim that fits over the eye to wash or put medicine on it

is written as two separate words rather than as one
eyebath
vseye cup
8.9

A small cup with a curved rim that fits around the eye to wash or put medicine on it

fits the eye socket closely and is for applying medicated or cleansing solutions

Surface Forms

eye cup singular
eye cups plural

Morphology

eye + cup

The meaning 'a small cup shaped to fit the eye socket' is directly and predictably built from 'eye' (the organ) + 'cup' (a hollow, bowl-shaped object), i.e. a cup for the eye. This follows a common noun–noun compositional pattern found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Eye cup is named for a small cup made to fit around the eye so you can pour medicine or water into it without spilling. So, the name describes 'a small cup used to apply or rinse solutions on the eyeball'.