red-eye
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red-eye
- /ˈɹɛdaɪ/ UK
- /ˈɹɛdˌaɪ/ US
Rhymes with -ɛdaɪ
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from red + eye; sense 2.3 (“strong but poor-quality whiskey”) and sense 3 (“overnight airplane flight”) are probably so named because they may cause people to develop bloodshot eyes.
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun red-eyes · red eye · redeye
- The common rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus), a freshwater fish. The fish of Lough Neath, in Ireland, called a Roach, is in reality the Rudd, or Red-eye, Cyprinus erythrophthalamus of authors, to be hereafter described—a fish belonging to the second division of the genus Leuciscus of Klein, which has the dorsal fin over the space between the ventral and anal fins
- Any of various grass-skippers or hesperiid butterflies of the genus Matapa. The Common Redeye (Matapa aria Moore) is much smaller (wingspan: 40–55 mm), plain brown without any markings, but as in the Giant Redeye its eyes are red.
- The red-eyed treefrog (Agalychnis callidryas), which is native to neotropical rainforests. Red-eyes have large and well-developed toepads and are adept at both leaping and walking through their elevated homes.
- A species of cicada, Psaltoda moerens, native to eastern Australia. The red eye, Psaltoda moerens, is sometimes common around Sydney where its favoured host, Angophora costata, grows. In some years populations can be immense with many thousands inhabiting just a few trees.
- The red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceus), a small American songbird. The red-eye (Vireo olivaceus), [...] The first (the red-eye) is one of the most abundant birds in the woods of the northern states. In the spring months, he is one of the most conspicuous of our singers, and, though his notes are short, they are very musical and lively.
- Any of various round herrings of the genus Etrumeus. The egg of the round herring or red-eye Etrumeus whiteheadi (E. micropus, E. teres) is smooth, spherical (diameter around 1·4 mm) with a narrow perivitelline space and has a large lightly segmented yolk and no oil globule [...].
- Either of two subspecies of the copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix), a venomous pit viper native to the United States: either the broad-banded copperhead or Texas copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus), or the highland moccasin or northern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen). Agkistrodon contortrix Linnaeus.—Cotton-mouth, Highland Moccasin, Rattlesnake Pilot, Red-eye.
- Any of various sunfishes of the family Centrarchidae, especially the redeye bass (Micropterus coosae) or the rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris). Redeyes inhabit clear-water streams with an abundance of shoals and are usually confined to headwater sections.
- The redeye tetra (Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae), a freshwater fish, commonly kept in aquariums, native to South America. My roommate has a 30 gallon long tank that is currently stocked with 6 neons and about 30 red-eyes. The neons are large (as neons go) and the red-eyes are almost an inch and a quarter.
- A drink made by adding a shot of espresso to a cup of coffee. "A red-eye, please," I said to the young woman. I waited to see whether she would recognize the drink or whether I would have to explain that it was a cup of coffee with a shot of espresso. [...] She made my drink, then his, but kept her eyes on him even as she handed me my red-eye.
- A drink consisting of beer with tomato juice.
-
A strong but poor-quality whiskey.
Near-synonym: rotgut
Similar: rotgut
- Ellipsis of red-eye gravy Patron : Well, let me have some big gravy for the biscuits and throw a little red eye on the grits. Waitress : Coffee? Patron : Yeah, black, please.
- An overnight airplane flight or train trip. I waited too late to book my holiday flight, so I had to take the red-eye.
- Redness of the conjunctiva; especially when caused by conjunctivitis (pinkeye). Most eye disorders tend to present as ‘red eye’. It is the single most common ophthalmic complaint encountered by general practitioners.
- Redness in the eye(s) of someone in a colour photograph, as an unwanted consequence of light from a flash reflecting off blood vessels in the retina. Use red-eye reduction when photographing people. It won't eliminate red-eye in every photo, but it's worth trying. When the D60 attempts to reduce red-eye it lights up the autofocus assist lamp on the front of the camera for about one second before taking the picture.
verb red-eyes · red-eyeing · red-eying · red-eyed · red eye
- Often followed by it: to travel on a red-eye (“an overnight airplane flight”). I flew in this morning, red-eying it in last night after hearing of this hearing, because what you are doing here is something that I am particularly interested in.
Translations
Every language
noun overnight airplane flight
| 中文 | 紅眼班機 /红眼班机 hóngyǎnbānjī, 紅眼航班 /红眼航班 hóngyǎnhángbān |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Nachtflug |
noun redness of the conjunctiva
| Kiswahili | jicho jekundu |
|---|
noun redness in the eye(s) of someone in a colour photograph
| Français | yeux rouges |
|---|
Talk about this word "red-eye." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/red-eye. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. red-eye. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/red-eye "red-eye." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/red-eye.
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@misc{red_eye_2026,
title = {red-eye},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/red-eye},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
