sighting
Britishnoun
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an occasion on which something is seen
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Another name for sight
Explanation
A sighting is an instance of discovering or observing something. You might use your telescope to watch the night sky for hours in the hope of a UFO sighting. Your friend, an avid birdwatcher, gets excited at every woodpecker or heron sighting he makes, while you're more interested in sightings of used bookstores. A sighting of your favorite pop star — a quick glimpse as she ducks into a limousine — might be thrilling for you and your friend! Sighting, "an instance of catching sight," dates from the mid-19th century.
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.
Still, international tourists show up daily in the park, Aidar says, hoping for a capybara sighting.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
The first sighting of the new blue octopus was made in 2015 near Darwin Island, named after the English scientist whose visit to the Galapagos helped him form the theory of evolution.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
Seeing a ferry headed nearby, Greg Friedman, owner of the yacht and a board member of the Marine Mammal Center, reported the whale sighting to the Coast Guard, which alerted nearby vessels.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
He reports a sighting of an unidentified object to Nasa mission control, describing a "bogey" and "trillions of little particles" seen to the left of the spaceship.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
But I’m telling you all this now to explain why I was so sceptical about their reported sighting of Ruth’s possible.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
