Meanings
prepositional phrase
- By estimation, based on a visual inspection, without accurate measurement.
Thus given a straight line it is very easy to construct a smaller or a greater than it by eye, not just because this is a broad sort of distinction, but because it also involves only one comparison.
1984, Andrew Barker, Greek Musical Writings: Volume 2, Harmonic and Acoustic Theory, page 277
Cite this entry
APA
by eye. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20eye
MLA
“by eye.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20eye. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “by eye,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20eye.
Source: by eye on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.