Phrase guide

public eye

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The focus of public attention; the limelight.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: with-definite-article

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a focus of public attention

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he enjoyed being in the limelight
  • when Congress investigates it brings the full glare of publicity to the agency

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: limelight, spotlight, glare

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: prominence

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: julkisuuden valokeila — focus of public attention
  • German: Öffentlichkeit — focus of public attention
  • Hungarian: nyilvánosság — focus of public attention
  • Hungarian: közfigyelem — focus of public attention
  • Hungarian: közszereplés — focus of public attention
  • Hungarian: közvélemény — focus of public attention
  • Hungarian: az érdeklődés homloktere — focus of public attention
  • Urdu: منظرِ عام (manzar-e-'ām) — focus of public attention