Side Eye Meaning: The Look, the Verb and the Emoji
Give someone the side eye and youâve told them you doubt, distrust or disapprove of them, without turning your head or saying a word. Dictionaries agree on that side eye meaning. Online it stretches further: people side-eye ideas, trends and their own decisions in captions, and send an emoji when a look canât travel.
More reaction slang is in our social media glossary.
Side Eye Meaning: A Sidelong Look
A side eye is a sidelong look that carries scorn, suspicion, disapproval, doubt or even curiosity. The three dictionaries agree on the look and list slightly different feelings behind it:
- Merriam-Webster spells it side-eye (less commonly side eye) and defines it as âa sidelong glance or gaze (as of scorn, suspicion, disapproval, or veiled curiosity),â often used with âthe.â It lists a verb, too. Checked against Merriam-Webster Dictionary
- Cambridge Dictionary describes the movement: you move your eyes to the side without turning your face, showing youâre annoyed by someone, donât respect them or donât believe what theyâre saying. Checked against Cambridge Dictionary
- Dictionary.com, which also accepts sideeye and side eye, defines it as âa sidelong look used to express contempt, criticism, suspicion, curiosity, or doubt.â Checked against Dictionary.com
So side-eye is the main dictionary spelling and side eye and sideeye are accepted variants; Merriam-Webster gives the plural as side-eyes, also side eyes. Checked against Merriam-Webster Dictionary (Internet Archive capture)Archived copy, 11 October 2026 View the archived copy
What Does It Mean When Someone Gives You the Side Eye?
It means theyâre judging something you said or did, doubting it, distrusting it or disapproving of it, and letting you see that without a word. Cambridgeâs definition adds being annoyed with you or not respecting you. Checked against Cambridge Dictionary
It isnât always hostile: both Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com include curiosity, so a side eye at a mystery parcel can just mean âwhatâs in that?â Aimed at a person, though, it can read as rude, since most of the feelings the dictionaries list, from scorn to contempt, are negative.
Three situations we made up:
- A friend swears theyâll be ready in five minutes: doubt.
- A coworker proposes a 7 a.m. meeting: disapproval.
- Someone at the next table orders a dish youâve never seen: curiosity.
Side-Eyeing Something: Side Eye as a Verb
As a verb, side-eye means to give that look, and the target can be an idea rather than a person. Dictionary.com notes that side eye works as a noun and a verb (giving someone the side eye, side-eyeing them) and can be figurative, like side-eyeing a dubious idea: âyou donât have to actually use your eyes to deliver the effect of the side eye.â Checked against Dictionary.com Slang Dictionary
Hereâs how it shifts by setting, with examples we wrote:
| Setting | What it looks like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| In person | Eyes slide sideways while the head stays still | A friend calls their fourth coffee âthe last one todayâ |
| In a caption | A verb aimed at an idea, a trend or yourself | âSide-eyeing my 3,000 unread emailsâ |
| In a comment | Words, or an emoji in place of the look | âthe side eye I just gave my screen đâ |
Sudden dislike is a different term: the ick, which Cambridge defines as a sudden feeling that you dislike someone, or are no longer attracted to them, because of something they do. Checked against Cambridge Dictionary: ick
What Is the Side Eye Emoji?
There are two. Dictionary.com says the emoji officially named unamused face (đ) and eyes (đ) are commonly called and used to mean side eye. Checked against Dictionary.com Slang Dictionary
The unamused face has its full entry with the skeptical faces in our emoji faces guide; đ has one in our emoji meanings guide.
Where Side Eye Comes From
Side eye is more than two centuries old: Merriam-Webster gives its first known use as 1797. Checked against Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Dictionary.comâs Slang Dictionary says one of the earliest known uses is in a 1797 periodical (âlooked upon with a side eyeâ), that it appears in James Joyceâs Ulysses (1922), and that it has been much more common in news and social media since the 2010s. It also points to older words for the same look: Shakespeareâs âaskanceâ and the âsidelong glanceâ in Dickensâs David Copperfield (1850). Checked against Dictionary.com Slang Dictionary (entry dated 1 Mar 2018)
Merriam-Websterâs dictionary caught up in February 2017, adding side-eye in an update of more than 1,000 new words and describing it as one of the metaphors or images that familiar words âcombine to give us,â alongside train wreck and weak sauce. Checked against Merriam-Webster Wordplay, "We Added 1,000+ New Words to the Dictionary in February 2017"
Can a Brand Give the Side Eye?
Yes, at ideas and situations, but not at people. Because side-eyeing can be figurative, a brand can side-eye a confusing form or its own to-do list, and the joke lands on the thing. Side-eyeing a customerâs question, or a named competitor, reads as the contempt and criticism Dictionary.com lists.
- Works: âSide-eyeing the âquick syncâ that just ran an hourâ
- Avoid: a đ reply under a customerâs complaint
If the reaction is disbelief rather than suspicion, SMH is the typed version: Merriam-Webster defines it as âshaking my head,â used to express disapproval, dismay or disbelief. Checked against Merriam-Webster Dictionary: smh
A side-eye caption your Instagram followers enjoy can read as flippant to an audience of clients, so each network can get its own wording.
For more on caption voice, see how to write engaging captions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean when someone gives you the side eye?
Itâs a look that signals suspicion, doubt or disapproval, and sometimes just curiosity. Merriam-Webster defines side-eye as a sidelong glance or gaze, as of scorn, suspicion, disapproval or veiled curiosity.
Is side eye rude?
It can be, when itâs aimed at a person: the feelings dictionaries attach to it include scorn, contempt, suspicion and disapproval. Merriam-Webster also includes veiled curiosity, so it isnât always hostile.
What is the side eye emoji?
There are two. Dictionary.com says the emoji officially named unamused face (đ) and eyes (đ) are commonly called and used to mean side eye.
Where did side eye come from?
Merriam-Webster gives its first known use as 1797, and Dictionary.comâs Slang Dictionary cites a 1797 periodical and James Joyceâs Ulysses (1922). Merriam-Webster added side-eye to its dictionary in February 2017.
How do you do a side eye?
Move your eyes to the side without turning your face. That is how Cambridge Dictionary describes the look, which shows youâre annoyed by someone, donât respect them or donât believe what theyâre saying.