phrase🎓 English idiom
the apple of my eye
a cherished, beloved person
What it means
A person who is cherished and loved above all others, often a child or sweetheart. It expresses deep affection for someone you treasure and want to protect.
Words like “the apple of my eye” are exactly the kind of vocabulary our English vocabulary size test measures — find out how many English words you know.
Examples
- His youngest daughter has always been the apple of his eye.
- Ever since she was born, that little girl has been the apple of my eye.
- The old man's garden was the apple of his eye.
- She was the apple of her grandfather's eye and could do no wrong.
Where it comes from
An ancient phrase referring literally to the pupil of the eye, once thought to be a solid apple-shaped object; it appears in Old English and several times in the Bible.
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