side-eye

noun

ˈsīd-ˌī 

variants or less commonly side eye

plural side-eyes also side eyes

: a sidelong glance or gaze (as of scorn, suspicion, disapproval, or veiled curiosity)

The guy who stole your heart as the class clown can seem like just a clown out of his original context, like when people are giving him side-eye for cracking lame jokes in the hostess line.

—Lauren Panariello

—often used with the

… is super quiet, so your roommate won't give you the side-eye every time you turn it on.

—Daniel Boan

… the singular focus on results washes away concerns about getting the side-eye from a colleague judging you for not being in your cubicle …

—Jack O'Laughlin, quoted in The Chicago Tribune

side-eye verb, transitive + intransitive

side-eyed; side-eyeing or side-eying; side-eyes

She wears clothes that would have Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope side-eyeing in envy.

—Kevin Fallon

Examples of side-eye in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

From the second Marissa goes to pick him up from a playdate and discovers he’s gone, the immediate instinct — from the cops, the community, the public and even, deep down, the family itself — is to side-eye Marissa for not being attentive enough. —Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2025

Kennedy Tolson is the sly queen of side-eye as the disobedient new housemaid Nancy. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Aug. 2025

Summer is still summering, but students are already starting to side-eye to the coming school year. —Cox Communications, Oc Register, 7 Aug. 2025

Describing her as loving, playful, and hilarious, Hall said Charlie has a signature side-eye and a flair for silly expressions. —Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1797, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for side-eye

• abscissae
• alibi
• alkali
• alumni
• amoebae
• amplify
• annuli
• beautify
• brachii
• butterfly
• calculi
• certify