a view, esp through a long narrow avenue of trees, buildings, etc, or such a passage or avenue itself; prospect
a vista of arches
a comprehensive mental view of a distant time or a lengthy series of events
the vista of the future
What does vista mean? A vista is a wide view of a scene, especially a sweeping outdoor scene such as a mountain valley or beach. Traditionally, vista referred to a view seen through a long, narrow passage, such as between two rows of trees or buildings, but this meaning is now less commonly used. Example: The description for this hotel room claims that we’ll have a vista of the mountain at sunrise from our balcony.
See view.
First recorded in 1650–60; from Italian: “a view,” noun use of feminine of visto (past participle of vedere “to see,” from Latin vidēre )
V(olunteers) i(n) S(ervice) t(o) A(merica)
A vista is a scene, view, or panorama. It's what you stop to see when you climb to the top of a mountain, or pull off the road at the "scenic view" rest stop. Vista is an Italian word that means "sight" or "view." It's the same in Spanish and is related to the verb avistar, which means "to catch sight of." Hasta la vista! means, literally, "Until I see you!" (or, more simply, "See you later!"). As in Spain and Mexico, we like to name our towns after a vista: Buena Vista ("great scenery"), Chula Vista ("pleasant view"), and Rio Vista ("overlooking the river") are all places in California.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For the U.S. military, Paveway opened an important and entirely new vista for attacks from the air.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
Looking ahead is good, of course, but the vista investors must now contemplate is replete with a host of issues that are both unique to U.S. markets and concerning to a longer term outlook.
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
The main living space, which features an enormous great room with windows spanning the entirety of the wall, offering a picture-perfect vista of the park.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 15, 2026
Beyond all that, though, an orchestra that knows and loves him brought into existence, especially in the slow movement, an inner Mehta vista that felt like a world unto itself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025
They view the scene from a brief distance above and no matter who they are or how old, they gain a wisdom from that last vista.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
In Sierra Vista, acting was always part of my soul because I lived so much in my imagination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
For a time, we lived in Thailand, Germany and Tennessee before settling down in Sierra Vista, Ariz., just as I was starting junior high.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Tarantino operates both the New Beverly Cinema and the Vista, and most recently, Kristen Stewart purchased the Highland Park theater.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
Fans of the Disney+ hit series Rivals will know this house as Bella Vista - home to Danny Dyer's character Freddie.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
But places were also named from the way the expedition felt at the time: Buena Esperenza, good hope; Buena Vista because the view was beautiful; and Chualar because it was pretty.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
It capitalized on the discovery of a protein found primarily on the surface of immune cells called VISTA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
About 30 years later, President Lyndon Johnson brought to fruition President John Kennedy’s “domestic Peace Corps” initiative, the Volunteers in Service to America program, known as VISTA.
From New York Times ● Jul. 2, 2021
Once cutting-edge, the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture, or VISTA, electronic health record has languished under a lack of investment, and clinicians have found it cumbersome compared with commercial systems.
From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2021
I was just a person who, for my own reasons, ended up moving to the region under the auspices of this national service program called VISTA, which is expressly stated to "alleviate poverty."
From Salon ● Jan. 25, 2020
In the 1960s, he joined the newly formed Office of Economic Opportunity, where he created the logos for such War on Poverty programs as Job Corps, Head Start and VISTA.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 15, 2017
The protected vistas have forced modern developers to shave the tops off skyscrapers or adopt slanted silhouettes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
“The gated, private parcel offers dramatic panoramic city views and sweeping vistas, with multiple usable tiers featuring generous flat pads, terraced gardens, and a dedicated pool level,” the description notes.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
In 1890, at Gravelines, just north of Calais, he painted four spare, gloriously luminous views that capture its canal’s sweeping vistas and endless skies, and all of them are here.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
Cities are squalid crime hives that need to be tamed or abandoned in the Sheridanverse, whereas small towns and Western vistas are quaint canvases fertile with possibility.
From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2026
Harry was walking blindly around the tent, feeling as though great new vistas of truth were opening all around him.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
