eyeblink

noun

eye·​blink ˈī-ˌbliŋk How to pronounce eyeblink (audio)
1
: a brief period of time : instant
2

Examples of eyeblink in a Sentence

within an eyeblink I accepted their offer on the house
Recent Examples on the Web Then, participants viewed either neutral pictures or pictures of erotic female nudes whose facial characteristics were computer-modified to resemble either the participant or another participant, or were not modified, while startle eyeblink responses were elicited by noise probes. Ncbi Rofl, Discover Magazine, 2 Sep. 2011 But an aggressive move by Chastain pushed back Harvick for good and Busch for an eyeblink. Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2023 The instigation of the eyeblink is even faster than the blink itself. Bob Berman, Discover Magazine, 3 June 2014 Before the invasion, conventional wisdom held that Russia could defeat Ukraine in an eyeblink. Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 27 July 2022 In the colossal expanse of cosmic time, humanity's entire lifespan is barely an eyeblink. Ryan Cooper, The Week, 4 Sep. 2021 The spiders make two explosive movements, simultaneously backflipping from their dangling position and casting that net from their front legs to ensnare prey—all of which happens faster than an eyeblink. Corryn Wetzel, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Oct. 2020 Four years is an eyeblink of time, but not in terms of how much baseball has changed. Paul Daugherty, The Enquirer, 5 Oct. 2020 That dormant period lasted about 100,000 years, which is an eyeblink on cosmological timescales, but certainly not for humans. Alison Klesman, Discover Magazine, 16 Jan. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'eyeblink.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of eyeblink was in 1838

Dictionary Entries Near eyeblink

Cite this Entry

“Eyeblink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eyeblink. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

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