eye up

IPA/ˈaɪ ˈʌp/
IPA/ˈaɪ ˈʌp/

eye up — 片語動詞

  • 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

打量；色瞇看

帶性趣或好感地盯著某人

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.

Kian 注意到酒吧裡有個男人一直打量他，感覺很不自在。

eye + someone + up (separable phrasal verb)

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

Marta 笑了出來，因為她看到她姊姊正在打量那位來自首爾的新學生。

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

覬覦；眼饞

渴望得到某物而盯著看

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.

Noa 整個下午都在盯著櫥窗裡的一把復古吉他。

eye + object + up (desire to possess)

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

Paloma 在手工藝市集裡逛來逛去，眼饞地看著每個攤位上的手作陶器。

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.