sight

[ sahyt ]

/ saɪt /

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See synonyms for: sight / sighted / sighting / sights on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

an act, fact, or instance of seeing.

an instance of looking briefly; view; glimpse.

one's range of vision on some specific occasion: Land is in sight.

mental perception or regard; judgment.

something seen or worth seeing; spectacle: the sights of London.

Informal. something unusual, surprising, shocking, or distressing: They were a sight after the fight.

Commerce.

presentation of a bill of exchange: a draft payable at two months after sight.
a showing of goods, especially gems, held periodically for wholesalers.

Older Use. a great deal: It's a sight better to work than to starve.

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

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

Obsolete. skill; insight.

verb (used with object)

to see, glimpse, notice, or observe: to sight a ship to the north.

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

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

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

verb (used without object)

to aim or observe through a sight.

to look carefully in a certain direction.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about sight

at first sight, at the first glimpse; at once: It was love at first sight.

at sight,

immediately upon seeing, especially without referring elsewhere for assurance, further information, etc.: to translate something at sight.
Commerce. on presentation: a draft payable at sight.

catch sight of, to get a glimpse of; espy: We caught sight of the lake below.

in plain sight. See entry at in plain sight.

know by sight, to recognize (a person or thing) seen previously: I know him by sight, but I know nothing about him.

not by a long sight, Informal. definitely not: Is that all? Not by a long sight.

on / upon sight, immediately upon seeing: to shoot him on sight;to recognize someone on sight.

out of sight,

beyond one's range of vision.
Informal. beyond reason; exceedingly high: The price is out of sight.
Slang. (often used as an interjection) fantastic; marvelous: a ceremony so glamorous it was out of sight.Oh wow! Out of sight!

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

sight unseen, without previous examination: to buy something sight unseen.

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 see¹ ”; see -th¹

OTHER WORDS FROM sight

sight·a·ble, adjectivesight·er, nounre·sight, verb (used with object)un·der·sight, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sight

cite, sight , site

Words nearby sight

Sigatoka, Siggeir, siggo, sigh, sighful, sight, sight bill, sight draft, sighted, sighter, sight gag

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sight in a sentence

After losing his sight to smallpox in 1759 at the age of 2, John Gough developed a heightened sense of touch.
The Shape-Shifting Squeeze Coolers|Marcus Woo|August 24, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Consistency of posting is also key to staying Instagram-relevant, hence the need to be visible and active to remain in users’ sight.
How to optimize for the Instagram algorithm in 2020|Julia Miashkova|August 19, 2020|Search Engine Watch
Amid the maelstrom of negative news about the dangers of misinformation and the exploitation of private data, it’s easy to lose sight of how technology might help.
Want to Fix Your Country? Czech This Box|Dan Peleschuk|August 13, 2020|Ozy
Use the right mix of short-tail, long-tail, geo-targeting, and LSI keywords to help your business become a frequent sight on the first page of Google for industry-specific and local searches.
What Google says about nofollow, sponsored, and UGC links in 2020: Does it affect your SEO rankings?|Joseph Dyson|July 24, 2020|Search Engine Watch

Last week, you set your sights on breaking baseball records, albeit in a shortened season.
Are You A Pinball Wizard?|Zach Wissner-Gross|July 24, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
There was the obvious sight gags of Valerie not realizing who everyone was clapping for, when the party was clapping for her.
‘The Comeback’ Finale: Give Lisa Kudrow All of the Awards|Kevin Fallon|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The gathering of the thousands of cops had been a soul-stirring sight.
Choking Back Tears, Thousands of Cops Honor Fallen Officer Ramos|Michael Daly|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thanks to the Atlanta case, they can now see another in plain sight.
A Gift to the Jihadis: The Unseen Airport Security Threat|Clive Irving|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I wonder if the seasoned salesman can spot the billionaires on sight.
Sneer and Clothing in Miami: Inside The $3 Billion Woodstock of Contemporary Art|Jay Michaelson|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the afternoon, about a thousand people marched in protest through the largest Prague square, with police nowhere in sight.
How Havel Inspired the Velvet Revolution|Michael Zantovsky|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And he was gone, and out of sight on the swift galloping Benito, before Father Gaspara bethought himself.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
A little boy of four was moved to passionate grief at the sight of a dead dog taken from a pond.
Children's Ways|James Sully
But at the instant I caught a sight of my counterfeit presentment in a shop window, and veiled my haughty crest.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
The Vine is a universal favorite, and rarely out of view; while it often seems to cover half the ground in sight.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
At the sight, Felipe flung himself on his knees before her; he kissed the aged hands as they lay trembling in her lap.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson

British Dictionary definitions for sight

sight

/ (saɪt) /

noun

the power or faculty of seeing; perception by the eyes; visionRelated adjectives: optical, visual

the act or an instance of seeing

the range of visionwithin sight of land

range of mental vision; point of view; judgmentin his sight she could do nothing wrong

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

anything that is seen

(often plural) anything worth seeing; spectaclethe sights of London

informal anything unpleasant or undesirable to seehis room was a sight!

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

an observation or alignment made with such a device

an opportunity for observation

obsolete insight or skill

a sight informal a great dealshe's a sight too good for him

a sight for sore eyes a person or thing that one is pleased or relieved to see

at sight or on sight

as soon as seen
on presentationa bill payable at sight

know by sight to be familiar with the appearance of without having personal acquaintanceI know Mr Brown by sight but we have never spoken

not by a long sight informal on no account; not at all

out of sight

slang not visible
extreme or very unusual
(as interj.)that's marvellous!

set one's sights on to have (a specified goal) in mind; aim for

sight unseen without having seen the object at issueto buy a car sight unseen

verb

(tr) to see, view, or glimpse

(tr)

to furnish with a sight or sights
to adjust the sight of

to aim (a firearm) using the sight

Derived forms of sight

sightable, adjective

Word Origin for sight

Old English sihth; related to Old High German siht; see see 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with sight

sight

In addition to the idioms beginning with sight

sight for sore eyes, a
sight unseen

also see:

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

sight

Idioms about sight

Origin of sight

OTHER WORDS FROM sight

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH sight

Words nearby sight

Words related to sight

How to use sight in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sight

Derived forms of sight

Word Origin for sight

Other Idioms and Phrases with sight