Meanings
verbclose one eye (third-person singular simple present closes one eye, present participle closing one eye, simple past and past participle closed one eye)
present singular third person closes one eye · participle present closing one eye · participle past closed one eye · past closed one eye
- MalaysiaSingaporeidiomaticto look the other way, to deliberately ignore or overlook (a mistake or transgression).
"It's also a distinctly Singaporean trait to carry on with whatever you can get away with," he added. "As long as the authorities close one eye."
2019 November, Stella Ko, “Photographer subverts Singapore's 'sterile' reputation by capturing dream-like images of the city-state”, in CNN
Origin
Cite this entry
APA
close one eye. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/close%20one%20eye
MLA
“close one eye.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/close%20one%20eye. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “close one eye,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/close%20one%20eye.
Source: close one eye on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.