before one's eyes
English
Alternative forms
- in front of one's eyes
- under one's eyes
Prepositional phrase
before one's eyes
- In one's plain view.
- (especially of a surprising or negative event) Experienced viscerally but with a degree of detachment, often due to being powerless to change the circumstances.
- He saw his life being destroyed before his eyes.
Further reading
- “before one's eyes”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
- “before someone's eyes”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary.
- “before your very eyes” in the Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- “before your eyes” in the Collins English Dictionary
- “before/in front of/under your eyes” in the Collins English Dictionary
- “in front of someone's (very) eyes” (US) / “in front of someone's (very) eyes” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.