sight
sight definition
sight (sīt)
noun
- something seen; view
- a remarkable or spectacular view; spectacle
- a thing worth seeing: usually used in pl. the sights of the city
- the act of seeing; perception by the eyes
- a view; look; glimpse
- any of various devices used to aid the eyes in lining up a gun, optical instrument, etc. on its objective
- aim or an observation taken with mechanical aid, as on a sextant or gun
- the faculty or power of seeing; vision; eyesight
- mental vision or perception
- range or field of vision
- mental view; opinion; judgment a hero in our sight
- Informal any person or thing of a strikingly unpleasant or unusual appearance
- Dialectal a large amount; great deal a sight better than fighting
- Obsolete insight
Etymology: ME siht < OE (ge)siht < base of seon, to see
transitive verb
- to observe or examine by taking a sight
- to catch sight of; see
- ☆ to bring into the sights of a rifle, etc.; aim at
- to furnish with sights or a sighting device
- to adjust the sights of
- to aim (a gun, etc.) using the sights
intransitive verb
- to take aim or an observation with a sight
- to look carefully in a specified direction sight along the line
adjective
- read, done, understood, etc. quickly and easily as soon as seen
- ☆ 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
by sight
by appearance; by recognizing but not through being acquainted
catch sight of
- to make out by means of the eyes; discern; see
- to see briefly; glimpse
lose sight of
- to fail to keep in sight; see no longer
- to fail to keep in mind; forget
not by a long sight
- not nearly
- not at all
out of sight
- not in sight
- far off; remote
- Informal beyond reach; unattainable; extremely high, as in standards, price, etc.
- Slang excellent; wonderful
out of sight of
- not in sight
- not close or near to; remote from
sight unseen
without seeing (the thing mentioned) beforehand
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