sight

American  

[sahyt] / saɪt /

noun

• sights
  plural

1. the power or faculty of seeing; perception of objects by use of the eyes; vision.

2. an act, fact, or instance of seeing.

3. an instance of looking briefly; view; glimpse.

4. one's range of vision on some specific occasion.

   Land is in sight.

5. mental perception or regard; judgment.

6. something seen or worth seeing; spectacle.

   the sights of London.

7. Informal. something unusual, surprising, shocking, or distressing.

   They were a sight after the fight.

8. Commerce.

   1. presentation of a bill of exchange.

      a draft payable at two months after sight.

   2. a showing of goods, especially gems, held periodically for wholesalers.

9. Older Use. a great deal.

   It's a sight better to work than to starve.

10. an observation taken with a surveying, navigating, or other instrument to ascertain an exact position or direction.

11. any of various mechanical or optical viewing devices, as on a firearm or surveying instrument, for aiding the eye in aiming.

12. Obsolete. skill; insight.

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verb (used with object)

• sights,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sighted,
  past participle,  past
• sighting
  present participle

1. to see, glimpse, notice, or observe.

   to sight a ship to the north.

2. to take a sight or observation of (a stake, coastline, etc.), especially with surveying or navigating instruments.

3. to direct or aim by a sight or sights, as a firearm.

4. to provide with sights or adjust the sights of, as a gun.

verb (used without object)

• sights,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sighted,
  past participle,  past
• sighting
  present participle

1. to aim or observe through a sight.

2. to look carefully in a certain direction.

idioms

1. on / upon sight, immediately upon seeing.

   to shoot him on sight;

   to recognize someone on sight.

2. not by a long sight, definitely not.

   Is that all? Not by a long sight.

3. at first sight, at the first glimpse; at once.

   It was love at first sight.

4. in plain sight. see in plain sight.

5. sight for sore eyes, someone or something whose appearance on the scene is cause for relief or gladness.

6. sight unseen, without previous examination.

   to buy something sight unseen.

7. catch sight of, to get a glimpse of; espy.

   We caught sight of the lake below.

8. know by sight, to recognize (a person or thing) seen previously.

   I know him by sight, but I know nothing about him.

9. at sight,

   1. immediately upon seeing, especially without referring elsewhere for assurance, further information, etc..

      to translate something at sight.

   2. Commerce. on presentation.

      a draft payable at sight.

10. out of sight,

    1. beyond one's range of vision.

    2. Informal. beyond reason; exceedingly high.

       The price is out of sight.

    3. Slang. (often used as an interjection) fantastic; marvelous.

       a ceremony so glamorous it was out of sight.

       Oh wow! Out of sight!

sight British  

/ saɪt /

noun

1. the power or faculty of seeing; perception by the eyes; vision

2. the act or an instance of seeing

3. the range of vision

   within sight of land

4. range of mental vision; point of view; judgment

   in his sight she could do nothing wrong

5. a glimpse or view (esp in the phrases catch sight of, lose sight of )

6. anything that is seen

7. (often plural) anything worth seeing; spectacle

   the sights of London

8. informal anything unpleasant or undesirable to see

   his room was a sight!

9. any of various devices or instruments used to assist the eye in making alignments or directional observations, esp such a device used in aiming a gun

10. an observation or alignment made with such a device

11. an opportunity for observation

12. obsolete insight or skill

13. informal a great deal

    she's a sight too good for him

14. a person or thing that one is pleased or relieved to see

15. 1. as soon as seen

    2. on presentation

       a bill payable at sight

16. to be familiar with the appearance of without having personal acquaintance

    I know Mr Brown by sight but we have never spoken

17. informal on no account; not at all

18. 1. slang not visible

    2. extreme or very unusual

    3. ( as interj. )

       that's marvellous!

19. to have (a specified goal) in mind; aim for

20. without having seen the object at issue

    to buy a car sight unseen

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verb

1. (tr) to see, view, or glimpse

2. (tr)

   1. to furnish with a sight or sights

   2. to adjust the sight of

3. to aim (a firearm) using the sight

sight More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing sight

• at first blush (sight)
• at sight
• can't stand the sight of
• catch sight of
• heave into sight
• in sight
• know by sight
• lose sight of
• love at first sight
• lower one's sights
• on sight
• out of sight
• raise one's sights
• second sight
• see the sights
• set one's sights on
• twenty-twenty hindsight

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sighter
  noun
• undersight
  noun
• resight
  verb (used with object)
• sightable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sights
  plural

Participles

• sighting
  present
• sighted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sight
  simple
• sights
  simple
• have sighted
  perfect
• has sighted
  perfect
• am sighting
  progressive
• are sighting
  progressive
• is sighting
  progressive
• have been sighting
  perfect progressive
• has been sighting
  perfect progressive

Past

• sighted
  simple
• had sighted
  perfect
• was sighting
  progressive
• were sighting
  progressive
• had been sighting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sight
  simple
• will have sighted
  perfect
• will be sighting
  progressive
• will have been sighting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of sight

First recorded before 950; Middle English (noun); Old English sihth (more often gesihth, gesiht; cognate with German Gesicht face; cf. y-), derivative of sēon “to see ¹ ”; see -th ¹

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Explanation

Your sight is your ability to see. If you're maneuvering through the house at midnight using your shins to locate the furniture, you'll appreciate your sight that much more. You could also turn a light on. Sight has many different senses. It can mean the range of your vision, as in when you freak out when your little puppy goes out of sight. You can "take in the sights," meaning you're seeing all the special attractions of a town (also known as sightseeing). Sight can also be a verb, as when you sight a celebrity at your local taco stand, or when you sight your target using the sight on your gun, before you shoot.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sight sights sighted sighting

But behind this unusual sight is a more serious story about the changing condition of Antarctica's glaciers.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

One resident told ABC news that the sight of armed police was "unnerving".

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy told analysts during its earnings call Thursday that the company expects “to spend meaningfully more in 2027 with a clear line of sight to attractive financial returns.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

For many, the sight of Machado waving to cheering crowds from an open car in the capital on Sunday has been surreal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

On the second twirl, I caught sight of the cocky, toothy smile of Douglas Fairbanks on the cover of Photoplay.I plucked the magazine from the stand.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

The new MPs have also set their sights on replacing the head of Telekom Srbija, Vladimir Lučić.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

More importantly, the participants with the most pronounced abnormalities in this brain signal also tended to have greater difficulty processing the timing of sights and sounds, more disorganized speech, and more severe clinical symptoms.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

He set his sights on Brazil, where Russian diesel was displacing more expensive American fuel.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

They had Graham, Clyburn and Wilson in their sights.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

She took in the sights and sounds with great curiosity as they strolled down the busy sidewalks.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Sea turtles have been sighted laying eggs on the sand in Huntington Beach — the first known instance of a sea turtle of any species spontaneously nesting on the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

The watchdog said on Saturday that "at this early stage, we understand Cleveland Police sighted a suspicious vehicle and a pursuit began."

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

The Pakistani navy published an alert Friday warning that a mine had been sighted in the strait off Oman.

From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026

And basically, they integrated sighted children so they could be part of the community and help out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

Occasionally I sighted a handful of scrawny cattle, goats and pigs grazing on stubbles of dry brush.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

"I would stare at her for hours because I was so enamoured by her," a woman said after sighting the shark on her third attempt.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

On Sunday, Environment Minister Joao Paulo Capobianco flew over the affected areas, sighting hundreds of fires in the middle of the protected forest.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

The sighting of the extremely venomous viper, which has the longest fangs of any snake in the world, spurred the Santa Ana Police Department to issue a public advisory accompanied by exclamation points.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

Ch Supt Critchley, district commander for Bolton, said the shopping centre sighting formed an important part of the investigation.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

My first sighting is in a news story referencing the Dark Days.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

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Related Words

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