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3. lay eyes on

lay eyes on

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lay eyes on somebody/something

also set eyes on somebody/something

to see someone or something She did not want to lay eyes on this man ever again. My mother had fallen in love with my father when she first set eyes on him.

See also: eye, lay, on

lay/set eyes on somebody/something

  (British, American & Australian) also clap eyes on somebody/something (British & Australian)

to see someone or something for the first time I've loved him ever since I first set eyes on him. I wish I'd never clapped eyes on that money.

See also: eye, lay, on

lay eyes on

Also, clap or set eyes on . Look at, see, as in As soon as I laid eyes on him I knew he would be perfect for the lead in our play, or I'd never set eyes on such a beautiful gown. The first term dates from the early 1200s and the third from the late 1300s; the second, using clap in the sense of "a sudden movement," dates from the first half of the 1800s.

See also: eye, lay, on