blinking away tears; eyes blinking back tears
Describes the action of repeatedly blinking to hold back or clear tears. Often used in emotional or poignant contexts.
She said goodbye, blinking back tears.
Overcome with emotion, I listened to the speech with eyes blinking away tears.
Compound of the mimetic adverb しばしば (blinking repeatedly) and 目 (eye). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the expression directly describes the physical action of blinking eyes.