sight

[ sahyt ]

/ saɪt /

noun

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

an act, fact, or instance of seeing.

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

a view; glimpse.

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 multitude; 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.

Nearby words

siggeir, siggo, sigh, sighful, sighfully, sight, sight bill, sight draft, sight for sore eyes, a, sight gag, sight rhyme

Idioms

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.

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

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

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

Can be confusedcite sight site

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for sight unseen

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 Formssightable, 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

Word Origin and History for sight unseen (1 of 2)

sight

Old English sihð, gesiht, gesihð "thing seen; faculty of sight; aspect; vision; apparition," from Proto-Germanic *sekh(w)- (cf. Danish sigte, Swedish sigt, Middle Dutch sicht, Dutch zicht, Old High German siht, German Sicht, Gesicht), stem that also yielded Old English seon (see see (v.)), with noun suffix -th (2), later -t.

Verily, truth is sight. Therefore if two people should come disputing, saying, 'I have seen,' 'I have heard,' we should trust the one who says 'I have seen.' [Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 5.14.4]

Meaning "perception or apprehension by means of the eyes" is from early 13c. Meaning "device on a firearm to assist in aiming" is from 1580s. A "show" of something, hence, colloquially, "a great many; a lot" (late 14c.). Sight for sore eyes "welcome visitor" is attested from 1738; sight unseen "without previous inspection" is from 1892. Sight gag first attested 1944. Middle English had sighty (late 14c.) "visible, conspicuous; bright, shining; attractive, handsome;" c.1400 as "keen-sighted;" mid-15c. as "discerning" (cf. German sichtig "visible").

Word Origin and History for sight unseen (1 of 2)

sight

1550s, "look at, view, inspect," from sight (n.). From c.1600 as "get sight of," 1842 as "take aim along the sight of a firearm." Related: Sighted; sighting.

Medicine definitions for sight unseen

sight

[ sīt ]

n.

The ability to see.

Field of vision.

Idioms and Phrases with sight unseen (1 of 2)

sight unseen

Without having viewed the object in question, as in He bought the horse sight unseen. This seeming oxymoron—how can a sight, which means something seen, be not seen?—dates from the late 1800s.

Idioms and Phrases with sight unseen (2 of 2)

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

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of sight

British Dictionary definitions for sight unseen

sight

noun

verb

Word Origin for sight

Word Origin and History for sight unseen (1 of 2)

sight

Word Origin and History for sight unseen (1 of 2)

sight

Medicine definitions for sight unseen

sight

n.

Idioms and Phrases with sight unseen (1 of 2)

sight unseen

Idioms and Phrases with sight unseen (2 of 2)

sight