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• vista
  vista

  noun

  a view or prospect, especially one seen through a long, narrow avenue or passage, as between rows of trees or houses.
• Vista
  Vista

  noun

  a town in SW California.
• VISTA
  VISTA

  noun

  a national program in the U.S., sponsored by ACTION, for sending volunteers into poor areas to teach various job skills.

vista

¹ American  

[vis-tuh] / ˈvɪs tə /

noun

• vistas
  plural

1. a view or prospect, especially one seen through a long, narrow avenue or passage, as between rows of trees or houses.

2. such an avenue or passage, especially when formally planned.

3. a far-reaching mental view.

   vistas of the future.

   Synonyms:

   vision, outlook, prospect

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Vista ² American  

[vis-tuh] / ˈvɪs tə /

noun

1. a town in SW California.

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VISTA ³ American  

[vis-tuh] / ˈvɪs tə /

noun

1. a national program in the U.S., sponsored by ACTION, for sending volunteers into poor areas to teach various job skills.

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vista ¹ British  

/ ˈvɪstə /

noun

1. a view, esp through a long narrow avenue of trees, buildings, etc, or such a passage or avenue itself; prospect

   a vista of arches

2. a comprehensive mental view of a distant time or a lengthy series of events

   the vista of the future

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VISTA ² British  

/ ˈvɪstə /

acronym

1. Volunteers in Service to America; an organization of volunteers established by the Federal government to assist the poor

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Usage

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.

Synonym Usage

See view.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vistaed
  adjective
• vistaless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vistas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of vista¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from Italian: “a view,” noun use of feminine of visto (past participle of vedere “to see,” from Latin vidēre )

Origin of VISTA³

V(olunteers) i(n) S(ervice) t(o) A(merica)

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Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vista Vista VISTA vistas

"You cannot see," tour operator Diddy Hamidon told AFP, looking out at a vista now shrouded in haze.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

The city largely shut down as residents and tourists ran for cover and plumes of smoke from fires darkened the Pacific vista.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026

One win from five is the vista here.

From BBC ● Feb. 7, 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

When we reach the foot of the bridge, Phil pauses, sweeping his hand over the vista as he talks about the vision of Taro Otsuka, Fabyan’s private gardener who designed this place.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

In the case of the Design District Opportunity Zone, the census tract includes the luxurious retail corridor but also the more depressed neighborhoods of Little Haiti and Buena Vista.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

North Torrance, 25-17, 25-20, 25-23 Vista Murrieta d.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Vista Equity Partners, which acquired the company in 2016, had planned an initial public offering in 2024 that would have repaid or extinguished the debt, but the deal failed to launch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

Oak Hills, 25-15, 25-23, 25-19 Vista Murrieta d.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Vista Nueva is full of all kinds of insects.

From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle

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

Mr. Butler later joined VISTA, the domestic Peace Corps, which dispatched him to Detroit.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 26, 2021

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

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

Emily Brehob has been a teaching assistant with AmeriCorps VISTA, Peace Corps volunteer, and is now a graduate student in Texas.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2018

Edgar Kaufmann Sr. wanted to build a new weekend house for his property at Bear Run, a densely wooded site without dramatic vistas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

There is also an open-plan dining space in the main living area, while a connecting balcony offers another seating area, where guests can enjoy the home’s stunning vistas.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026

“With its generous scale, prime setting, and extraordinary vistas, the site invites a new vision where new construction can fully realize and elevate everything this exceptional property has to offer.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026

The park had opened in 2001 and had struggled in its early years to pull in crowds, with audiences zeroing in on a lack of Disneyland-style attractions and an absence of grandly designed vistas.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026

This opened wide vistas of scenes and locales that I did not so much visit in my reading, but rather possessed.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

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