Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A fabric woven with a pattern of small diamonds, each having a dot in the center.
  • noun The pattern of such a fabric.
  • adjective Marked with a spot or spots resembling a bird's eye or eyes, as the bird's-eye maple or a blue flower having a small circular yellow center.
  • adjective Derived from or as if from an altitude or distance; comprehensive.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun plural A Californian wild flower, Gilia tricolor, sometimes carpeting whole slopes.
  • noun In botany: The pheasant's-eye, Adonis autumnalis.
  • noun The speedwell, Veronica Chamædrys: so named from its bright-blue flower.
  • noun A species of primrose, Primula farinosa.
  • noun A fine kind of tobacco, partly manufactured from the leafstalks of the plant, and forming, when ready for use, a loose fibrous mass with thin slices of stalk interspersed, the latter marked somewhat like a bird's eye.
  • Seen from above, as if by a flying bird; embraced at a glance; hence, general; not minute or entering into details: as, a bird's-eye landscape; a bird's-eye view of a subject.
  • Resembling a bird's eye; having spots or markings somewhat resembling birds' eyes.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Seen from above, as if by a flying bird; embraced at a glance; hence, general; not minute, or entering into details.
  • adjective Marked with spots resembling bird's eyes.
  • noun (Bot.) A plant with a small bright flower, as the Adonis or pheasant's eye, the mealy primrose (Primula farinosa), and species of Veronica, Geranium, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having spots resembling the eyes of a bird
  • adjective As if viewed from an altitude; panoramic
  • noun A fabric having a pattern of small circles or diamonds with a spot in each centre

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective as from an altitude or distance

Etymologies

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Examples

  • DALLAS—Drones, the remote-controlled aircraft used in combat zones, are now hovering over some U.S. cities as police enlist them to get a bird's-eye view of crime scenes and accidents at relatively low expense.

    The Law's New Eye in the Sky Ana Campoy 2011

  • Meanwhile, the auction gives a bird's-eye view of the year's releases.

    For Movie Nerds, a League of Their Own Marshall Heyman 2011

  • Most importantly, though, the bird's-eye view of Woody Creek gave motorists a glimpse at one of the finest installations of public art in Colorado history: a barn with a blue roof on which had been painted a gigantic middle finger.

    Todd Hartley: Two Thumbs Up for Giant Offensive Fingers Todd Hartley 2010

  • But the growing muscle of securities firms in the metal-storage business is riling users and traders, who say the firms have both a bird's-eye view of supply and demand and the ability to control what goes in and out of their warehouses.

    Commodities Beckon Banks Carolyn Cui 2011

  • For the participants in one of two recreational tree-climbing workshops offered by the garden each year, the class was a combination of grueling upper-body work and dogged, slow progress rewarded with a bird's-eye view of the Bronx.

    Come, Climb a Tree (Just This Once) Jo Piazza 2011

  • Most importantly, though, the bird's-eye view of Woody Creek gave motorists a glimpse at one of the finest installations of public art in Colorado history: a barn with a blue roof on which had been painted a gigantic middle finger.

    Todd Hartley: Two Thumbs Up for Giant Offensive Fingers Todd Hartley 2010

  • Most importantly, though, the bird's-eye view of Woody Creek gave motorists a glimpse at one of the finest installations of public art in Colorado history: a barn with a blue roof on which had been painted a gigantic middle finger.

    Todd Hartley: Two Thumbs Up for Giant Offensive Fingers Todd Hartley 2010

  • Most importantly, though, the bird's-eye view of Woody Creek gave motorists a glimpse at one of the finest installations of public art in Colorado history: a barn with a blue roof on which had been painted a gigantic middle finger.

    Todd Hartley: Two Thumbs Up for Giant Offensive Fingers Todd Hartley 2010

  • Most importantly, though, the bird's-eye view of Woody Creek gave motorists a glimpse at one of the finest installations of public art in Colorado history: a barn with a blue roof on which had been painted a gigantic middle finger.

    Todd Hartley: Two Thumbs Up for Giant Offensive Fingers Todd Hartley 2010

  • But the growing muscle of securities firms in the metal-storage business is riling users and traders, who say the firms have both a bird's-eye view of supply and demand and the ability to control what goes in and out of their warehouses.

    Commodities Beckon Banks Carolyn Cui 2011

Comments

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  • A woven fabric, or fabric design, with a pattern of small diamonds, each with a dot in the center.

    June 15, 2010