To rub your eyes is to press them with the hands from tiredness. Rub your eyes and look again.
It feels good because pressing the eye slows the heart slightly, and it is bad for the eye itself. To rub your eyes with unwashed hands is one of the surest ways to catch anything going round.
1phraserub your eyesTo press the eyes with the hands from tiredness.
“He would rub your eyes at the screen rather than admit he needed glasses.”
rub your eyes is a gesture.
Practised in Body Language & Gestures