black eye

noun

Definition of black eye

1 : a discoloration of the skin around the eye from bruising

2a : defeat, setback

b : a bad reputation

Examples of black eye in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The scammer beauty routine seems to be grounded by the lack of a hairbrush and a semi-dazed look in the eyes, which is heightened on female scammers by a haphazard application of black eye makeup. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "Why Is Scammer Style So Bad?," 22 Mar. 2019 And also protect the city from another gigantic PR black eye. — Stu Bykofsky, Philly.com, "Commish orders up a kinder, gentler, more polite police force | Stu Bykofsky," 13 June 2018 The puree is darker than chickpea hummus because of the black eyes in the peas. — Sheryl Julian, BostonGlobe.com, "At Bisq in Cambridge, hummus is whirred with black-eyed peas, ‘chips’ made from chicken skins," 26 June 2018 Thank you for sharing your husband’s family history during such a ‘black eye in America, 9066’ [Executive Order 9066]. — Katherine Yamada, latimes.com, "Verdugo Views: Taking part in a tournament during his high school years in Glendale," 14 June 2018 The Huskies made their first 15 before Katie Lou Samuelson, with a swollen black eye on the left, missed two with 15.8 seconds left, leaving the UConn lead at 73-70. — Mike Anthony, courant.com, "UConn Women Outlast Texas 75-71 In Wild Game," 16 Jan. 2018 If confirmed, the breach could become a black eye for U.K. investigators, who have had a patchy record prosecuting white-collar crimes since the 2008 financial crisis. — Bradley Hope, WSJ, "U.K. Investigates Leaks in Insider Trading Probe," 27 Dec. 2018 This episode returns to the Pearsons' early years as a family of five, with Jack coming home with a black eye and admitting to Rebecca that he's been boxing other people at the gym. — Candice Frederick, Harper's BAZAAR, "This Is Us Episode Recaps," 31 Oct. 2018 Wingert retweeted a photo taken of her black eye after returning home. — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, "Braves reporter suffers fractured eye socket after getting hit by foul ball," 2 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'black eye.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.