Etymology : Middle English, from Old English gesiht faculty or act of sight, thing seen; akin to Old High German gisiht sight, Old English sEon to see
Pronunciation : sIt
Function : noun
Date : before 12th century
1. vision, ability to see; look, glimpse; spectacle; viewfinder; range of view; point of view; ridiculous appearance. see:
with the eyes, view; notice, discern; observe, look at carefully; locate in a viewfinder; equip with a viewfinder; direct, aim. sight\sight\ , n. [oe. sight, si t, siht, as. siht, gesiht, gesih , gesieh , gesyh ; akin to d. gezicht, g. sicht, gesicht, dan. sigte, sw. sigt, from the root of e. see:
see see, v. t.].
2. the act of seeing; perception of objects by the eye; view; as, to gain sight of land. a cloud received him out of their sight. i.
3. 2. the power of seeing; the faculty of vision, or of perceiving objects by the instrumentality of the eyes. thy sight is young, and thou shalt read when mine begin to dazzle. o loss of sight, of thee i most complain!.
4. the state of admitting unobstructed vision; visibility; open view; region which the eye at one time surveys; space through which the power of vision extends; as, an object within sight.
5. a spectacle; a view; a show; something worth seeing. moses said, i will now turn aside and see:
this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. iii.
6. they never saw a sight so fair.
7. the instrument of seeing; the eye. why cloud they not their sights?.
8. inspection; examination; as, a letter intended for the sight of only one person.
9. mental view; opinion; judgment; as, in their sight it was harmless. --wake. that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of god.
10. 8. a small aperture through which objects are to be seen, and by which their direction is settled or ascertained; as, the sight of a quadrant. thier eyes of fire sparking through sights of steel.
11. a small piece of metal, fixed or movable, on the breech, muzzle, center, or trunnion of a gun, or on the breech and the muzzle of a rifle, pistol, etc., by means of which the eye is guided in aiming.
12. 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 or the like, the open space, the opening.
13. a great number, quantity, or sum; as, a sight of money. [now colloquial]note: sight in this last sense was formerly employed in the best usage. "a sight of lawyers." a wonder sight of flowers.
14. The act of seeing; perception of objects by the eye; view; as, to gain sight of land.
15. The power of seeing; the faculty of vision, or of perceiving objects by the instrumentality of the eyes.
16. The state of admitting unobstructed vision; visibility; open view; region which the eye at one time surveys; space through which the power of vision extends; as, an object within sight.
17. A spectacle; a view; a show; something worth seeing.
18. The instrument of seeing; the eye.
19. Inspection; examination; as, a letter intended for the sight of only one person.
20. Mental view; opinion; judgment; as, in their sight it was harmless.
21. A small aperture through which objects are to be seen, and by which their direction is settled or ascertained; as, the sight of a quadrant.
22. A small piece of metal, fixed or movable, on the breech, muzzle, center, or trunnion of a gun, or on the breech and the muzzle of a rifle, pistol, etc., by means of which the eye is guided in aiming.
23. 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.
24. In a frame or the like, the open space, the opening.
25. A great number, quantity, or sum; as, a sight of money.
26. To get sight of; to see; as, to sight land; to sight a wreck.
27. To look at through a sight; to see:
accurately; as, to sight an object, as a star.
28. To apply sights to; to adjust the sights of; also, to give the proper elevation and direction to by means of a sight; as, to sight a rifle or a cannon.
29. To take aim by a sight. a optical instrument for aiding the eye in aiming, as on a firearm or surveying instrument the range of vision; "out of sight of land" the ability to see; the faculty of vision an instance of visual perception; "the sight of his wife brought him back to reality"; "the train was an unexpected sight" a range of mental vision; "in his sight she could do no wrong" anything that is seen; "he was a familiar sight on the television"; "they went to Paris to see:
the sights" catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes; "he caught sight of the king's men coming over the ridge".
30. 1. Someone's sight is their ability to see:
My sight is failing, and I can't see:
to read any more I use the sense of sound much more than the sense of sight. = vision.
31. The sight of something is the act of seeing it or an occasion on which you see:
it. I faint at the sight of blood The sight of him entering a room could flood her with desire.
32. A sight is something that you see:
We encountered the pathetic sight of a family packing up its home.
33. If you sight someone or something, you suddenly see:
them, often briefly. The security forces sighted a group of young men that had crossed the border.
34. The sights of a weapon such as a rifle are the part which helps you aim it more accurately.
35. The sights are the places that are interesting to see:
and that are often visited by tourists. I am going to show you the sights of our wonderful city.
36. emphasis You can use a sight to mean a lot. For example, if you say that something is a sight worse than it was before, you are emphasizing that it is much worse than it was. She's been no more difficult than most daughters and a sight better than some I could mention see also:
sighted, sighting.
37. If you catch sight of someone, you suddenly see:
them, often briefly. Then he caught sight of her small black velvet hat in the crowd = see:
38. If you say that something seems to have certain characteristics at first sight, you mean that it appears to have the features you describe when you first see:
it but later it is found to be different. It promised to be a more difficult undertaking than might appear at first sight.
39. If something is in sight or within sight, you can see:
it. If it is out of sight, you cannot see:
it. The Atlantic coast is within sight of the hotel My companion suggested that we park out of sight of passing traffic to avoid attracting attention.
40. If a result or a decision is in sight or within sight, it is likely to happen within a short time. An agreement on many aspects of trade policy was in sight.
41. If you lose sight of an important aspect of something, you no longer pay attention to it because you are worrying about less important things. In some cases, US industry has lost sight of customer needs in designing products = forget.
42. If someone is ordered to do something on sight, they have to do it without delay, as soon as a person or thing is seen. Troops shot anyone suspicious on sight.
43. If you set your sights on something, you decide that you want it and try hard to get it. They have set their sights on the world record. to see:
something from a long distance away, or see:
something you have been looking for.