on sight

Idioms

Also, at sight. Immediately upon seeing, as in The soldiers threatened to shoot looters on sight, or He's able to multiply those three-digit figures at sight. [Second half of 1400s]

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.

"Operators do a lot of caramel testing, just on sight and on feel. So basically, they walk up to the caramel and just give it a squeeze."

From BBC

He also had a mammoth 327 touches in the opposition box and appeared to adopt a 'shoot on sight' policy with 139 efforts on goal - effectively one every 20 minutes.

From BBC

And then there’s Ilona Maher — Olympic rugby player, nurse and proud owner of biceps that could crack a crab leg on sight.

From Salon

Black folks, and Black women especially, recognized certain homages on sight: the recurring suggestions of Yoruba deities, the purposeful insertion of certain Black stars in specific scenes, the tributes to mothers living and ancestral.

From Salon

A curfew order has also been put in place in parts of Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and Altadena, giving law enforcement the power to arrest anyone in the restricted areas on sight.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023