foresight

American  

[fawr-sahyt, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌsaɪt, ˈfoʊr- /

noun

• foresights
  plural

1. care or provision for the future; provident care; prudence.

2. the act or power of foreseeing; prevision; prescience.

3. an act of looking forward.

4. knowledge or insight gained by or as by looking forward; a view of the future.

   Synonyms:

   foreknowledge

5. Surveying.

   1. a sight or reading taken on a forward point.

   2. (in leveling) a rod reading on a point the elevation of which is to be determined.

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foresight British  

/ ˈfɔːˌsaɪt /

noun

1. provision for or insight into future problems, needs, etc

2. the act or ability of foreseeing

3. the act of looking forward

4. surveying a reading taken looking forwards to a new station, esp in levelling from a point of known elevation to a point the elevation of which is to be determined Compare backsight

5. the front sight on a firearm

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Synonym Usage

See prudence.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• foresightedness
  noun
• foresighted
  adjective
• foresightful
  adjective
• foresightedly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• foresights
  plural

Etymology

Origin of foresight

First recorded in 1250–1300, foresight is from the Middle English word forsight. See fore-, sight

Explanation

Use the noun foresight to describe successful planning for the future. When it starts raining hard during your long walk to school, you'll wish you had the foresight to bring an umbrella. The word foresight is made of two parts: fore, which means "before," and sight, which means "to perceive." People often perceive things with their eyes: this is vision, or sight. But vision can also describe what someone thinks will happen in the future — and foresight is planning for things before they happen.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foresight foresights

A higher quality XO cognac requires foresight of at least a decade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Now, there’s a question of hindsight versus foresight.

From Slate ● May 5, 2026

No one saw that coming when shares were spun out of GE on April 2, 2024, after Larry Culp had the foresight to break up General Electric.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

This may yet be a brilliant piece of foresight by the FA to keep one of the best, most single-minded, successful coaches in world football.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2026

It’s no simple job getting me back to Beauty Base Zero, even with the elaborate arsenal of products, tools, and gadgets Plutarch had the foresight to bring from the Capitol.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Most of my work deals with the next 5 years, and it’s more about pretty obvious foresights rather than ‘predictions’.

From Forbes ● Jul. 8, 2014

Also with this new vision come memories and foresights.

From Stella Fregelius by Henry Rider Haggard

"You can't seem to account for them foresights," continued Mr. Teaby, putting down his tall, thin valise and letting the empty top of it fold over.

From Strangers and Wayfarers by Sarah Orne Jewett

"How would Black, by turning in some wrong backsights and foresights, expect to delay the building of the road, even if he wanted to do it?"

From The Young Engineers in Colorado Or, At Railwood Building in Earnest by H. Irving (Harrie Irving) Hancock

They are the outgrowth of spiritual reality, as well as of human experience; they repeat the foregleams and foresights of a "far-off divine event, To which the whole creation moves."

From George Eliot; a Critical Study of Her Life, Writings & Philosophy by George Willis Cooke

Related Words

• insight
• prudence