in the blink of an eye
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
One moment Angel One had been crouched motionless as a carved statue, the next he seemed to have been transposed several feet nearer in the blink of an eye, like a faulty sequence in some badly cut movie.
In the blink of an eye, Richmann drew the Steyr and shot Henri between the eyes.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Equivalents & related
Near equivalent
trong chớp mắt
(adverb) in the blink of an eye
Tiếng Việt
Near equivalent
blink of an eye
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
English · via trong chớp mắt
Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.
Common questions
What does “in the blink of an eye” mean?
Quickly.
Is “in the blink of an eye” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“trong chớp mắt” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.