What does "sight" mean?
The ability to see.
Sight
/saɪt/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The ability to see.
- Grammar: sight is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: vision, aim, aim, aim at.
- Useful contrasts: anopia, blindfold, blindness.
- Usage evidence: Death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.
How to use "sight"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sight" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sight" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sight" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sight" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sight" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "vision" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sight", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The ability to see. countable, singular, uncountable
"He is losing his sight and now can barely read."
- 2 the act of looking or seeing or observing wordnet
- 3 The act of seeing; perception of objects by the eye; view. countable, uncountable
"to gain sight of land"
- 4 the range of vision wordnet
- 5 Something seen. countable, uncountable
"He's a really remarkable man and it's very hard to get him in one's sights; […]"
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 the ability to see; the visual faculty wordnet
- 7 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."
- 8 an instance of visual perception wordnet
- 9 A device used in aiming a projectile, through which the person aiming looks at the intended target. countable, in-plural, often, uncountable
- 10 a range of mental vision wordnet
- 11 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"
- 12 a place of interest, especially to visitors wordnet
- 13 a great deal, a lot; frequently used to intensify a comparative. colloquial, countable, uncountable
"a sight of money"
- 14 anything that is seen wordnet
- 15 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
- 16 (often followed by ‘of’) a large number or amount or extent wordnet
- 17 The instrument of seeing; the eye. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Why cloude they not their ſights perpetually,"
- 18 Mental view; opinion; judgment. countable, uncountable
"In their sight it was harmless."
Verb
- 1 To see; to get sight of (something); to register visually. transitive
"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."
- 2 catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes wordnet
- 3 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
"Next a point of known elevation, preferably one of the triangulation stations, is sighted; the vertical angle is read and the horizontal distance is scaled from the point of the setup on the map to the point sighted."
- 4 take aim by looking through the sights of a gun (or other device) wordnet
- 5 To apply sights to; to adjust the sights of. transitive
"to sight a rifle or a cannon"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To observe or aim (at something) using a (gun) sight. intransitive, transitive
"Jim braced the gun and sighted, tried to pull the trigger. Beside him a body collapsed, limp. It was Max. A shot had gone through his brain. Jim stared down at him, numb with horror."
Example
"Death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sight"?
Common synonyms include: vision, aim, aim, aim at, airscape, align.
How do you use "sight" in a sentence?
Death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.
How do you pronounce "sight"?
Pronounced /saɪt/.
Etymology
From Middle English siȝht, siȝt, siht, from Old English siht, sihþ (“something seen; vision”), from Proto-West Germanic *sihti, equivalent to see + -t. Cognate with Scots sicht, Saterland Frisian Sicht, West Frisian sicht, Dutch zicht, German Low German Sicht, German Sicht, Danish sigte, Swedish sikte.