English
sight
Etymology

From Middle English siȝht, siȝt, siht, from Old English siht, sihþ ("something seen; vision"), from Proto-West Germanic *sihti, equivalent to see + -th.

Pronunciation Noun

sight

  1. (in the singular) The ability to see.
    He is losing his sight and now can barely read.
    • c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act III, scene ii]:
      Thy sight is young, / And thou shalt read when mine begin to dazzle.
    • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain'd. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC ↗, page 12 ↗, line 67:
      O loſs of ſight, of thee I moſt complain!
  2. The act of seeing; perception of objects by the eye; view.
    to gain sight of land
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Acts 1:9 ↗:
      And when hee had spoken these things, while they beheld, hee was taken vp, and a cloud receiued him out of their sight.
  3. Something seen.
  4. (often, in the plural) Something worth seeing; a spectacle, either good or bad.
    We went to London and saw all the sights – Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, and so on.
    You really look a sight in that ridiculous costume!
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Exodus 3:3 ↗:
      And Moses saide, I will nowe turne aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, Prothalamion:
      They never saw a sight so fair.
  5. (often, in the plural) A device used in aiming a projectile, through which the person aiming looks at the intended target.
  6. A small aperture through which objects are to be seen, and by which their direction is settled or ascertained.
    the sight of a quadrant
    • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act IV, scene i]:
      their eyes of fire sparking through sights of steel
  7. (now colloquial) a great deal, a lot; frequently used to intensify a comparative.
    a sight of money
    This is a darn sight better than what I'm used to at home!
    • 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 2, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC ↗:
      "If your mother put you in the pit at twelve, it's no reason why I should do the same with my lad."
      "Twelve! It wor a sight afore that!"
  8. In a drawing, picture, etc., that part of the surface, as of paper or canvas, which is within the frame or the border or margin. In a frame, the open space, the opening.
  9. (obsolete) The instrument of seeing; the eye.
    • c. 1607–1608, William Shakeſpeare, The Late, And much admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: Imprinted at London for Henry Goſſon,  […], published 1609, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene i] ↗:
      Why cloude they not their ſights perpetually,
  10. Mental view; opinion; judgment.
    In their sight it was harmless.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC ↗, Luke 16:15 ↗:
      That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Verb

sight (sights, present participle sighting; simple past and past participle sighted)

  1. (transitive) To see; to get sight of (something); to register visually.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC ↗:
      I was on my way to the door, but all at once, through the fog in my head, I began to sight one reef that I hadn't paid any attention to afore.
    to sight land from a ship
    1. (transitive) To observe though, or as if through, a sight, to check the elevation, direction, levelness, or other characteristics of, especially when surveying or navigating.
  2. (transitive) To apply sights to; to adjust the sights of.
    to sight a rifle or a cannon
  3. (transitive, intransitive) To observe or aim (at something) using a (gun) sight.
Synonyms Translations Translations

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