eye up

IPA/ˈaɪ ˈʌp/
IPA/ˈaɪ ˈʌp/

eye up — phrasal verb

  • eye upbase form
  • eyes up3rd person singular
  • eyeing up-ing form
  • eyed uppast simple

1. to watch someone with clear romantic or sexual interest, letting your expression

1.片語動詞及物B2
釋義

to watch someone with clear romantic or sexual interest, letting your expression show that you find them attractive

例句

Kian noticed a man at the bar eying him up and felt uncomfortable.

eye + someone + up (separable phrasal verb)

Marta giggled when her older sister eyed up the new student from Seoul.

continuous tense: was eying up + someone

同義詞
  • check out

    more casual and less intensely sexual than 'eye up'

  • ogle

    more offensive and openly lecherous; stronger negative connotation

  • leer at

    suggests a sly, unpleasant look rather than simple interest

文法句型

eye + someone + up

eye up + someone

用法筆記

Frequently appears in continuous tenses (eying / eyeing up). The object can separate the verb from the particle: 'eye someone up' is more common than 'eye up someone'.

常見錯誤

❌He eyed up at her from across the room.
✅He eyed her up from across the room.
💡'eye up' is transitive and takes a direct object; do not add a preposition like 'at'.
❌She was eyeing up him from behind her book.
✅She was eying him up from behind her book.
💡When the object is a pronoun, it must go between 'eye' and 'up', not after 'up'.

2. to look carefully at something because you are interested in having or using it

2.片語動詞及物B2
釋義

to look carefully at something because you are interested in having or using it for yourself

例句

Noa spent the whole afternoon eying up a vintage guitar in the shop window.

eye + object + up (desire to possess)

Paloma walked around the craft fair, eying up the handmade pottery on each table.

continuous tense with shopping context

同義詞
  • have one's eye on

    suggests longer-term desire or intention to acquire

  • covet

    more formal and carries a stronger sense of envy

反義詞
  • ignore

    to deliberately pay no attention to something

文法句型

eye + something + up

eye up + something

用法筆記

The object is typically a desirable item such as food, an object for sale, or something another person has. Like sense 1, this phrase is often used in continuous tenses. Distinguish from sense 1: the object here is a thing, not a person.

常見錯誤

❌She eyed up to the last cookie.
✅She was eying up the last cookie.
💡The phrase needs a direct object; 'to' is not part of the pattern.
❌He eyed up for a new bicycle in the store.
✅He was eying up a new bicycle in the store.
💡'eye up' is transitive and the object follows directly, without a preposition.