SightGrade

Dominant eye test

Frame a target through a small triangle made with your hands, then close each eye in turn. In 30 seconds you'll know which eye your brain relies on for aiming.

What is a dominant eye?

Just as most people favor one hand, most favor one eye. Your dominant eye is the one your brain trusts slightly more for lining things up. Roughly two-thirds of people are right-eye dominant. It doesn't always match your writing hand, and it says nothing about which eye sees better.

Why knowing your dominant eye helps

Shooters and archers aim with their dominant eye, so cross-dominance (for example right-handed and left-eye dominant) changes how you should stand or aim. Photographers usually look through the viewfinder with it. Eye doctors use it when fitting monovision contact lenses or planning cataract and laser surgery.

How the test works

This is a version of the classic Miles test. Stand back from the screen, stretch out your arms and make a small triangle with your thumbs and index fingers. Frame the target with both eyes open, then close one eye. The eye that keeps the target inside the triangle is your dominant eye.

Frequently asked questions

Can your dominant eye change?

It's usually stable, but can shift if vision in one eye gets much worse, for example from a cataract.

What if neither eye seems dominant?

Some people have weak or mixed dominance. Repeat the test a couple of times. If the result keeps changing, you probably don't have a strong preference, which is fine.

More free eye tests

Vision test (20/20)
Tumbling-E chart for each eye. Measures your 20/20 score.
Contrast sensitivity test
How faint can letters get before they disappear?
Color vision test
A quick red–green check with hidden-number plates.
Astigmatism test
Do some lines on a clock dial look darker?
Amsler grid test
Check for wavy, blurry or missing areas.
Color blind test
Finds your type (red, green or blue-yellow) and how strong it is.
Reading vision test
Smallest print you can read, plus a reading-glasses suggestion.
Color blindness simulator
See how the world, or your own photo, looks with each type of color blindness.

This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. If you have sudden vision loss, flashes, a curtain over your vision, eye pain or new double vision, get urgent care now.