red-eye

Meanings

Noun

• An overnight airplane flight.
• Redness of the conjunctiva; especially when caused by conjunctivitis (pink-eye).
• Redness in the eye(s) of someone in a colour photograph, as an unwanted consequence of light from a flash reflecting off blood vessels in the retina.

Verb

• Often followed by it: to travel on a red-eye.

Origin

• The noun is derived from red + eye; sense 2.3 (“strong but poor-quality whiskey”) and sense 3 (“overnight airplane flight”) are probably so named because they may cause people to develop bloodshot eyes.
• The verb is derived from the noun.