sight unseen

Idioms

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.

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.

“I called and said, ‘I have experience at Macy’s doing Christmas,’ and they literally gave me the job sight unseen over the phone because experience at Macy’s had so much clout,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2025

Decades since Luna Luna was packed away, Goldberg rallied a team of investors to buy what might be left of the exhibition from the foundation - sight unseen.

From BBC • Dec. 22, 2024

The possibility of a hoax remains, but the novel ends by confirming the validity of the techno-romance: Genuine connection transcends material limitations and can occur solely in words exchanged, sight unseen.

From Slate • May 27, 2024

One does not need to like Adams in order to reject Santos pandering to the people who assert, sight unseen, that New York City was left a burned-out husk after Black Lives Matter protests.

From Salon • Dec. 29, 2023

Tyrion had never been fond of singers, and he liked this one even less than the run of the breed, sight unseen.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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