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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

sight.

The sense or faculty by which objects are perceived through the agency of light; the sense by which we see.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/saɪt//səɪt/
  1. The sense or faculty by which objects are perceived through the agency of light; the sense by which we see.

    uncountable
    Sight is a precious gift.
    He is losing his sight and now can barely read.
  2. An act, instance, opportunity or possibility of seeing; the perception of objects by the eye; view (see also idiomatic expressions such as in sight, out of sight, catch sight of, etc.)

    countable · uncountable
    The sight of him in his new uniform made us all proud.
    I need to have sight of the certificate before proceeding.
  3. Something seen.

    countable · uncountable
    The sight in front of me seemed somehow familiar.
  4. Something worth seeing; a spectacle, either good or bad.

    countable · in-plural · often · uncountable
    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!
  5. A device used in aiming a projectile, through which the person aiming looks at the intended target; see also in one's sights.

    countable · in-plural · often · uncountable
  6. A small aperture through which objects are to be seen, and by which their direction is settled or ascertained.

    countable · uncountable
    the sight of a quadrant
  7. a great deal, a lot; frequently used to intensify a comparative.

    colloquial · countable · uncountable
    a sight of money
    This is a darn sight better than what I'm used to at home!
  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.

    countable · uncountable
  9. The instrument of seeing; the eye.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable
  10. Mental view; opinion; judgment.

    countable · uncountable
    In their sight it was harmless.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English sighte, from Old English sihþ (“something seen; vision”), from Proto-West Germanic *sihti (“seeing, sight”), equivalent to see + -t. Cognates Cognate with Cimbrian gazicht (“sight, vision; pupil”), Dutch gezicht (“face; sight, vision”), zicht (“sight, vision”), German Gesicht (“face; sight, vision”), Sicht (“view; sight; visibility”), Luxembourgish Gesiicht (“face”), Siicht (“view; sight”), Yiddish געזיכט (gezikht, “face”), Danish sigt (“sight; visibility”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk sikt (“visibility”), Swedish sikt (“visibility”), sikte (“sight”).

verb/saɪt//səɪt/
  1. To see; to get sight of (something); to register visually.

    transitive
    to sight land from a ship
  2. To see; to get sight of (something); to register visually. To observe through, or as if through, a sight, to check the elevation, direction, levelness, or other characteristics of, especially when surveying or navigating.

    transitive
  3. To apply sights to; to adjust the sights of.

    transitive
    to sight a rifle or a cannon
  4. To observe or aim (at something) using a (gun) sight.

    intransitive · transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English sighte, from Old English sihþ (“something seen; vision”), from Proto-West Germanic *sihti (“seeing, sight”), equivalent to see + -t. Cognates Cognate with Cimbrian gazicht (“sight, vision; pupil”), Dutch gezicht (“face; sight, vision”), zicht (“sight, vision”), German Gesicht (“face; sight, vision”), Sicht (“view; sight; visibility”), Luxembourgish Gesiicht (“face”), Siicht (“view; sight”), Yiddish געזיכט (gezikht, “face”), Danish sigt (“sight; visibility”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk sikt (“visibility”), Swedish sikt (“visibility”), sikte (“sight”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.