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sight

Syllabification: (sight)
Pronunciation: /sīt/

Translate sight | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of sight

noun

  • 1the faculty or power of seeing:Joseph lost his sight as a baby [as modifier]:a sight test
  • the action or fact of seeing someone or something:I’ve always been scared of the sight of blood
  • the area or distance within which someone can see or something can be seen:he now refused to let Rose out of his sight
  • dated a person’s view or consideration:we are all equal in the sight of God
  • 2a thing that one sees or that can be seen:John was a familiar sight in the bar for many years he was getting used to seeing unpleasant sights
  • (sights) places of interest to tourists and visitors in a city, town, or other place:she offered to show me the sights
  • (a sight) informal a person or thing having a ridiculous, repulsive, or disheveled appearance:“I must look a frightful sight,” she said
  • 3 (usually sights) a device on a gun or optical instrument used for assisting a person’s precise aim or observation.

verb

  • 1 [with object] manage to see or observe (someone or something); catch an initial glimpse of:tell me when you sight London Bridge (as noun sighting)the unseasonal sighting of a cuckoo
  • 2 [no object] take aim by looking through the sights of a gun:she sighted down the barrel
  • take a detailed visual measurement of something with or as with a sight.
  • [with object] adjust the sight of (a firearm or optical instrument).

Phrases

at first sight

on first seeing or meeting someone:it was love at first sight
after an initial impression (which is then found to be different from what is actually the case):the debate is more complex than it seems at first sight

catch (or get a) sight of

glimpse for a moment; suddenly notice:when she caught sight of him she smiled

in sight

visible:no other vehicle was in sight
near at hand; close to being achieved or realized:the minister insisted that agreement was in sight

in (or within) sight of

so as to see or be seen from:I climbed the hill and came in sight of the house
within reach of; close to attaining:he was safe for the moment and in sight of victory

in (or within) one's sights

visible, especially through the sights of one’s gun.
within the scope of one’s ambitions or expectations:he had the prize firmly in his sights

lose sight of

be no longer able to see.
fail to consider, be aware of, or remember:we should not lose sight of the fact that the issues involved are moral ones

not a pretty sight

informal not a pleasant spectacle or situation.

on (or at) sight

as soon as someone or something has been seen:in Africa, paramilitary game wardens shoot poachers on sight

out of sight

  • 1not visible:she saw them off, waving until the car was out of sight
  • 2 (also outasight) [often as exclamation] informal extremely good; excellent: [as adjective]:these stereophones are an out-of-sight choice

out of sight, out of mind

proverb you soon forget people or things that are no longer visible or present.

(get) out of my sight!

go away at once!.

raise (or lower) one's sights

become more (or less) ambitious; increase (or lower) one’s expectations.

set one's sights on

have as an ambition; hope strongly to achieve or reach:Katherine set her sights on college

a sight ——

informal or dialect used to indicate that something is so described to a considerable extent:the old lady is a sight cleverer than Sarah he’s a sight too full of himself

a sight for sore eyes

informal a person or thing that one is extremely pleased or relieved to see.

a sight to behold

a person or thing that is particularly impressive or worth seeing.

Derivatives

sighter

noun

Origin:

Old English (ge)sihth 'something seen'; related to Dutch zicht and German Gesicht 'sight, face, appearance'. The verb dates from the mid 16th century (sight (sense 2 of the verb))

Do not confuse sight with site. Sight means 'the ability to see' (he lost his sight in an accident), whereas site means 'a place where something is located or happens' (the site of a famous temple).

sight in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of sight in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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