on sight

Variant of sight

sight definition

sight (sīt)

noun

    1. something seen; view
    2. a remarkable or spectacular view; spectacle
    3. a thing worth seeing: usually used in pl. the sights of the city
  1. the act of seeing; perception by the eyes
  2. a view; look; glimpse
  3. any of various devices used to aid the eyes in lining up a gun, optical instrument, etc. on its objective
  4. aim or an observation taken with mechanical aid, as on a sextant or gun
  5. the faculty or power of seeing; vision; eyesight
  6. mental vision or perception
  7. range or field of vision
  8. mental view; opinion; judgment a hero in our sight
  9. Informal any person or thing of a strikingly unpleasant or unusual appearance
  10. Dialectal a large amount; great deal a sight better than fighting
  11. Obsolete insight

Etymology: ME siht < OE (ge)siht < base of seon, to see

transitive verb

  1. to observe or examine by taking a sight
  2. to catch sight of; see
  3. ☆ to bring into the sights of a rifle, etc.; aim at
    1. to furnish with sights or a sighting device
    2. to adjust the sights of
  4. to aim (a gun, etc.) using the sights

intransitive verb

  1. to take aim or an observation with a sight
  2. to look carefully in a specified direction sight along the line

adjective

  1. read, done, understood, etc. quickly and easily as soon as seen
  2. ☆ due or payable when presented a sight draft
sight Idioms

a sight for sore eyes

Informal a person or thing that is pleasant to see; welcome sight

at first sight

when seen or considered for the first time

at sight

or on sight
  1. when or as soon as seen
  2. Commerce upon demand or presentation

by sight

by appearance; by recognizing but not through being acquainted

catch sight of

  1. to make out by means of the eyes; discern; see
  2. to see briefly; glimpse

lose sight of

  1. to fail to keep in sight; see no longer
  2. to fail to keep in mind; forget

not by a long sight

  1. not nearly
  2. not at all

out of sight

  1. not in sight
  2. far off; remote
  3. Informal beyond reach; unattainable; extremely high, as in standards, price, etc.
  4. Slang excellent; wonderful

out of sight of

  1. not in sight
  2. not close or near to; remote from

sight unseen

without seeing (the thing mentioned) beforehand

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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