goggle
/ˈɡɒɡ(ə)l
/verb [no object]
1Look with wide open eyes, typically in amazement: I goggled at them in total disbelief...
- The voyeurs goggling at Big Brother are no longer disturbed by the suspicion - though it ought to be obvious - that this domestic ‘reality’ has been thoroughly manipulated.
- I have forbidden them to ring in but it seemed mean to ban them from watching it at all so they have been using up their TV allowance goggling at small creatures vying for our affections while cuddled to famous bosoms.
- There'd been a very loud sound of smashing glass two doors down, although not so loud that I actually heard it, so absorbed was I in mindlessly goggling at the box.
Synonyms
stare, gape, stare open-mouthed, stare in wonder/amazement, gawk, gaze, ogle, look fixedly, look vacantly
informal rubberneck
British informal gawp
1.1(Of the eyes) open wide or protrude: with their eyes goggling and their tongues hanging out...
- He took the money, his eyes goggling with astonishment.
- This time I'm sure he'll be craning his neck out of his stroller, eyes goggling as he takes in all the sights and sounds of the Big Smoke.
- He is pimply, his neck is thin, his blue eyes goggle, his underlip extrudes.
adjective [attributive]
(Of the eyes) protuberant or rolling.
noun
1 (goggles) Close-fitting glasses with side shields, for protecting the eyes from glare, dust, water, etc. a pair of goggles swimming goggles...
- They recommend that people wear gloves, goggles, and dust masks, and that they wash promptly if exposure occurs.
- Wear goggles, a dust mask, a hat, and other protective clothing when sanding.
- Wear a painter's mask and goggles to protect against the dust while you're cutting.
1.1 informal Glasses.
2 [in singular] A stare with protruding eyes: their goggle mesmerizes even fishmongers...
- The fear of the blank page (nowadays more frequently the blank screen) can reduce even a veteran writer to the terrified goggle of a rabbit in the headlights.
- She had it all - the slurring, the owl-eyed goggle, the ranting, and of course, the passing out half naked in the middle of the floor.
3 (goggles) The staggers (a disease of sheep).
Derivatives
goggled
- By reputation, the goggled Dutchman is something of an awkward customer, but first impressions have been favourable.
- I peered into the goggled face and realised it was Guy, our photographer, who had been with me in Marina's front room for the last hour.
- The goggled girl stopped eating and looked up slowly from her stew, her movements meticulously controlled, arching a thin eyebrow about her goggles.
Origin
Middle English (in the sense 'look to one side, squint'): probably from a base symbolic of oscillating movement.