line of sight
Americannoun
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Also called line of sighting. an imaginary straight line running through the aligned sights of a firearm, surveying equipment, etc.
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Astronomy. an imaginary line from an observer to a celestial body, coincident with the path traveled by light rays receivedfrom the body.
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Radio. a straight line connecting two points sufficiently high and near one another so that the line is entirely above the surface of the earth.
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Ophthalmology. line of vision.
noun
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the straight line along which an observer looks or a beam of radiation travels
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ophthalmol another term for line of vision
Etymology
Origin of line of sight
First recorded in 1550–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“We have to have…not a social media post, a credible line of sight to the war in Iran ending,” he says.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
“We have line of sight to monetizing approximately 800 megawatts of power over time, and our pipeline of interest remains deep and active.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
For commercial drones to become an everyday reality, operators need to be able to fly them beyond the visual line of sight, or BVLOS.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
Always in each other’s line of sight, always negotiating space that didn’t exist.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
The mastiff dæmon, following the man’s line of sight, growled again.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
