out (of) the corner of (one's) eye

out (of) the corner of (one's) eye

Of something seen, in one's periphery; partially and/or fleetingly, as opposed to fully and for an extended amount of time. Out the corner of my eye, I saw something moving in the bushes, and it turned out to be a stray cat. Sarah caught Tommy kissing Jessica out of the corner of her eye.See also: corner, eye, of, out

out of the corner of one's eye

Fig. [seeing something] at a glance; glimpsing something, as with peripheral vision. I saw someone do it out of the corner of my eye. It might have been Jane who did it. I only saw the accident out of the corner of my eye. I don't know who is at fault.See also: corner, eye, of, out

out of the corner of one's eye

Glancing casually or surreptitiously, as in Out of the corner of my eye I saw Justin walking out the door. This expression refers to looking sideways at something rather than directly. See also: corner, eye, of, out

out of the corner of your ˈeye

at the edge of your vision; indirectly: I just caught sight of him out of the corner of my eye, so I couldn’t say exactly what he looked like.See also: corner, eye, of, out