So again, here’s the difference: To keep an eye on something means to watch or monitor that thing carefully and to keep an eye out for something means to watch an area until that thing appears or arrives. 1.eyeball, optic(informal), peeper(slang), orb(poetic), organ of vision, organ of sightHe is blind in one eye. Let’s say you’re driving down a road looking for a hotel where you’re going to stay, but you don’t know exactly where the hotel is because you’ve never been in this city before, so you ask your husband or wife who is in the car with you, “Keep an eye out for signs for the hotel.” It means you’re watching the side of the road to see when a sign for the hotel might appear. The first one was “keep an eye on something” and the second phrase is “keep an eye out for something.” This means to watch carefully until that thing appears. The second expression is to keep an eye out for something. Usage notes edit Usually followed by a preposition phrase beginning with for. I think were getting close, so keep an eye out for the next street. So, to keep an eye on something means to watch it carefully or monitor it carefully. keep an eye out (third-person singular simple present keeps an eye out, present participle keeping an eye out, simple past and past participle kept an eye out) To watch for or look out for. It doesn’t mean that you’re constantly looking at the cellphone, it means that frequently, you check the price of the phone to see if it went on sale. You would keep an eye on it to see if it goes on sale. For example, let’s say you really want to buy a particular new model of cellphone, but it’s a little too expensive. Now, keep an eye on can also mean to monitor something or pay attention to it even if you’re not watching it continuously. To keep an eye on something means to watch it or monitor it carefully.įor example, if you’re at the beach and you have young children, you want to keep an eye on your children to make sure that they don’t get into danger or get hurt or get lost. The first one is keep an eye on something.

Hello students, it’s Shayna from and today’s phrases are very similar but they’re actually slightly different.

Meaning of keep an eye out