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.
One win from five is the vista here.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 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
A jumble of rectangles snaps into a rigidly composed vista of a white gate set into an earthy wall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Far beyond, players in whites showed sharp against the red of the courts surrounded by grass, a gay vista washed by the sun.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
The bat fell onto a table at the Yellow Deli in Vista, startling patrons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 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
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
In La Habra, a two-alarm fire broke out in a commercial building on South Monte Vista Street on Saturday night, threatening other buildings, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
During his father’s last few years Joe had gone with him often up to Colorado, up to the auctions in Monte Vista and Alamosa and other towns in the San Luis Valley.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
VISTA, Calif.—It was only 9 a.m., but David Bronner, whose title is Cosmic Engagement Officer of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, had already picked two fights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
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
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
RIO VISTA, Calif. — As the Merva W puttered down the Sacramento River, it looked like any other dowdy fishing vessel headed toward the Golden Gate Bridge.
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2014
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
“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
It features a new aesthetic, replacing an earlier moody, neon-lit look with a more neo-western feel, complete with panoramic desert vistas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
Bando is a little stiff and sore this morning, so we walk slowly, enjoying the vistas from the skyline of this mountain range.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
