catch someone's eye

Meaning

This expression means to attract someone's attention, often by being visually appealing, unusual, or by making direct eye contact. It can refer to a person looking at you or an object attracting your notice while shopping or browsing. The tone is completely neutral and highly common in everyday speech.

Examples

• I was browsing the bookstore when a bright red cover caught my eye.

  I was browsing the bookstore when a bright red cover caught my eye.

• Try to catch the waiter's eye so we can ask for the bill.

  Try to catch the waiter's eye so we can ask for the bill.

• She was hoping to catch his eye across the crowded room, but he was too busy talking.

  She was hoping to catch his eye across the crowded room, but he was too busy talking.

• The modern design of the house immediately caught my eye as I drove past.

  The modern design of the house immediately caught my eye as I drove past.

• A small typo on the front page of the menu caught my eye.

  A small typo on the front page of the menu caught my eye.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ The beautiful dress caught my eyes.

  ✓ The beautiful dress caught my eye.

  The idiom always uses the singular 'eye,' even though we look with both eyes.

• ✗ I caught the eye of the painting.

  ✓ The painting caught my eye.

  The object that attracts attention is the subject that 'catches' the eye of the person, not the other way around.

Related Expressions

Practice

• A gorgeous leather jacket in the window ___.

  💡 Past tense of the expression.

  Show answer

  caught my eye

• If you want to order another drink, try to ___.

  💡 Adjust 'someone's' to 'the bartender's'.

  Show answer

  catch the bartender's eye