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Meaning & use

on a red eye

phrase·Everyday

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UK/ˌɒn ə ˈred aɪ/
US/ˌɑːn ə ˈred aɪ/

Meanings

  1. phrasefixed phrase

    Traveling on a flight that leaves late at night and lands the following morning.

    Grammar: Used after the verb be or as a description after a noun: she is on a red eye; the people on a red eye.

    Patterns

    • be on a red eye
    • fly on a red eye
    • be on a red eye from somewhere to somewhere

    She's on a red eye from Los Angeles, so she won't land until six in the morning.

    I hate being on a red eye because I can never sleep in those narrow seats.

    We put him on a red eye to save a day of vacation time.

  2. phrasefixed phrase

    Used to describe the trip itself, meaning it happens on a night flight that arrives in the morning.

    Grammar: Often placed after a noun such as flight, trip or route, or after a verb of travel: fly on a red eye, come in on a red eye.

    Patterns

    • a flight on a red eye
    • travel on a red eye
    • get in on a red eye

    The cheap seats are always on a red eye, which is why students take them.

    He came back on a red eye and went straight to the office.

    Booking on a red eye saved us almost two hundred dollars.

Common combinations

be on a red eye
I'm on a red eye tonight, so don't wait up for me.
fly on a red eye
They usually fly on a red eye to avoid paying for a hotel.
book someone on a red eye
The travel agent booked us on a red eye by mistake.
come in on a red eye
Her parents came in on a red eye and slept all afternoon.
a red-eye flight
The red-eye flight was full of people in business clothes.
catch a red eye
If we leave now, we can still catch a red eye to Chicago.

Synonyms and how they differ

on an overnight flight
Clearer and more formal, and it does not depend on the listener knowing the slang term red eye.
on a night flight
Simply says the flight is at night; it does not promise that it lands in the morning the way a red eye usually does.

Opposites

on a daytime flight

Word family

red eye noun
A late-night flight, or the tired-looking red eyes you get after one.
red-eye adjective
Used before a noun, as in a red-eye flight or a red-eye route.

Commonly confused: on a red eye or red-eye? on a red eye or redeye?

on a red eye vs red-eye

As a noun or adjective it names the flight itself; the phrase on a red eye describes a person or trip using that flight. Say I'm on a red eye, not I'm a red eye.

on a red eye vs redeye

Written as one word, this usually means a cheap strong whiskey or a fish with red eyes, not a flight.

Practice

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