backsight

American  

[bak-sahyt] / ˈbækˌsaɪt /

noun

Surveying.

1. a sight on a previously occupied instrument station.

2. (in leveling) the reading on a rod that is held on a point of known elevation, used in computing the elevation of the instrument.

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backsight British  

/ ˈbækˌsaɪt /

noun

1. the sight of a rifle nearer the stock

2. surveying a reading taken looking backwards to a previously occupied station Compare foresight

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Etymology

Origin of backsight

First recorded in 1840–50; back ² + sight

Example Sentences

The tip of the foresight was a fraction below the level of his puckered eye, part of which showed in the aperture of the backsight.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the old man was tired and muddled with his backsight, and dreams were in his noddle.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

To counteract this the aim must be taken higher, but the rifle is so constructed that by raising the slide of the backsight a little, aim may be taken at the original spot.

From Ladies in the Field: Sketches of Sport by Greville, Beatrice Violet Graham

These differences in the appearance of the foresight are corrected by raising the backsight in a bright light, and lowering it when dull.

From Ladies in the Field: Sketches of Sport by Greville, Beatrice Violet Graham

The tiny figures seen over the slide of the backsight seemed a little larger, but also fewer at each successive volley.

From The River War An Account of the Reconquest of the Sudan by Churchill, Winston