eye up

present singular third person eyes up · participle present eyeing up · participle present eying up · participle past eyed up · past eyed up

1. colloquialidiomatictransitiveTo examine (something or someone) closely (often, something or someone coveted).

   The dog was eyeing up my steak.

   4 more examples

   Near-synonyms: give someone the eye, take a look (intransitive)

   That creep in the corner was eyeing me up.

   Llanelli: An empty piece of land south of the station is being eyed up by Carmarthenshire Council, to create a better interchange for buses and taxis, and to build a car park.

   2025 April 16, Howard Johnston, “Regional News: Wales”, in RAIL, number 1033, page 25

   Sitting in one of the booths (with table and comfy seats) in the open plan ground floor reception, Network Rail Business Change Manager Sarah Newman explains how NR had been eyeing up the building in late 2024, with work starting on site in August 2025.

   2025 December 24, Andy Comfort, “Signalling a change in training”, in RAIL, number 1051, page 28

   Synonyms: eyeball, give someone the eye, take a look

2. colloquialidiomaticTo examine casually by eye, with little or no measuring or testing.

   Hey, while you're there, take a look at their furnace. You don't have to inspect it — just eye it up and tell me whether it's decrepit or not.

   Synonyms: eyeball