apple of someone's eye
The object of somebody's affections; a person (or sometimes a thing) that someone strongly prefers; a favorite, a loved one.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Her grandson is the apple of her eye.”
“You are clearly the apple of your teacher's eye.”
“The old dog was the apple of his eye, and he took her everywhere.”
“The mechanic spent every weekend polishing his vintage motorcycle because it was truly the apple of his eye.”
“The chef treats his rooftop garden as the apple of his eye, spending hours every morning carefully watering the rare herbs he grows there.”
“Though he had three children, his youngest daughter had always been the apple of his eye, the one he spoke of with unmistakable pride.”
disputed origin
PIE word *h₂ébōl From Middle English appel of the eie (“pupil of the eye; cornea; (figurative) something highly valued”), from Old English æppel on the ēagan, used in biblical texts (Deuteronomy 32:10, Psalm 17:8; Proverbs 7:2, Lamentations 2:18, and Zechariah 2:8; compare the quotations) to designate the pupil of the eye as something precious to be protected. The use of "apple" in English is apparently due to the pupil or cornea being thought of as a solid, globular object.
- 01
an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
compensation for injury caused by a person, in the form of inflicting of an identical injury on that person.
- 02
another nail in someone's coffin
An event that increases the likelihood of or causes further failure.
- 03
answer someone's prayers
To be or do exactly what someone has been wishing or asking for.
- 04
answer to someone's prayers
Exactly what someone has been wishing or asking for.
- 05
apple polisher
A sycophant; a toady.
- 06
apples and oranges
A comparison of items that, however categorically similar, is inapt; an incompatible analogy, or the items so compared; a disanalogy.
- 07
apples to apples
A comparison of items that are similar.
- 08
apples to apples, oranges to oranges
A comparison of items that are similar, while also acknowledging or distinguishing a separation of their sets or categories.
Last updated August 10, 2026