bird's-eye

[ burdz-ahy ]
See synonyms for bird's-eye on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. seen from above, as by a bird in flight; panoramic: a bird's-eye view of the city.

  2. omitting many details; broad; superficial; general: a bird's-eye view of ancient history.

  1. having spots or markings resembling the eyes of a bird: bird's-eye tweed.

noun,plural bird's-eyes.
  1. any of various plants having small, round, bright-colored flowers, as a primrose, Primula farinosa, or a speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys.

  2. Textiles.

    • a woven, allover pattern on fabrics, characterized chiefly by small diamond shapes resembling the eyes of a bird.

    • a fabric having this pattern, especially a cotton used for diapers or a linen used for toweling.

Origin of bird's-eye

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; bird + 's1 + eye

Other definitions for Birdseye (2 of 2)

Birdseye
[ burdz-ahy ]

noun
  1. Clarence, 1886–1956, U.S. inventor and businessman: developer of food-freezing process.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bird's-eye in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bird's-eye

bird's-eye

adjective
    • seen or photographed from high above

    • summarizing the main points of a topic; summary (esp in the phrase bird's-eye view)

  1. having markings resembling birds' eyes

noun
  1. bird's-eye primrose a Eurasian primrose, Primula farinosa, having clusters of purplish flowers with yellow centres

  2. bird's-eye speedwell the usual US name for germander speedwell

  1. any of several other plants having flowers of two contrasting colours

  2. a pattern in linen and cotton fabrics, made up of small diamond shapes with a dot in the centre of each

  3. a linen or cotton fabric with such a pattern

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012