Meaning of sight in English

sight
noun
uk

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/saɪt/ us

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/saɪt/

sight noun (ABILITY TO SEE)

B1 [ U ]
the ability to see:
If your sight is poor, you should not drive a car.
The old woman has lost her sight (= has become blind).
Synonym
vision (ABILITY)
See also
eyesight
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Eyesight, glasses & lenses
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sight noun (VIEW)

B2 [ C or S or U ]
something that is in someone's view:
The flowers at the annual flower show were a beautiful sight.
You should always keep sight of your bags (= have them where you can see them) while you're at the airport.
informal He was a real sight in his old clothes (= he looked messy or silly).
The child laughed at the sight of (= when she saw) the new toy.
formal The lawyer requested sight of (= to see) the papers.
I don't dare let the children out of my sight (= go where I cannot see them) at the park.
The police officer was hidden out of sight (= where he could not be seen) behind a tree.
The castle came into sight (= started to be able to be seen) as we went round a bend in the road.
We're looking for a house which is within sight of (= from which it is possible to see) the mountains.
figurative After three years of campaigning, the end is finally in sight (= will happen soon) for Jon.
I caught sight of (= saw for a moment) my former teacher while I was out shopping today, but she turned a corner and I lost sight of (= could no longer see) her.
"Do you know David Wilson?" "I haven't met him, but I know him by sight (= I recognize him, but do not know him)."
informal She hated/loathed the sight of (= hated) her former husband.
informal They used to be very good friends, but now they can't bear/stand the sight of (= hate) each other.
The question seemed easy at first sight (= when they first saw it), but when the students tried to answer it, they discovered how difficult it was.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
to see something
  • seeI can see for miles from up here.
  • noticeI noticed a crack in the ceiling.
  • perceiveBill perceived a tiny figure in the distance.
  • observeA teacher observed her climbing over the gate.
  • spotWe managed to spot a leopard.
  • catch sight ofWe looked for the bird and caught sight of it just as it flew off.
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 the sights
B1
places of interest, especially to visitors:
We spent a week in Rome looking at all the sights.
 sight unseen
without seeing something first:
I never buy anything sight unseen.
More examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Using the eyes
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sight noun (MUCH)

 a sight informal
a lot; much:
Food is a darn/damn sight more expensive than it used to be.
UK He's a sight better than he was yesterday.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Masses and large amounts of things
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sight noun (GUN PART)

[ C usually plural ]
a part of a gun or other device through which you look to help you aim at something:
Make sure you line up the sights before you fire the gun.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Parts of guns

Idioms

get out of my sight!
lower your sights
out of sight
out of sight, out of mind
set your sights on something
a sight for sore eyes
sight
verb [ T ]
uk

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/saɪt/ us

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/saɪt/
to suddenly see something or someone:
After days at sea, the sailors finally sighted land.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Using the eyes
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(Definition of sight from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

sight | American Dictionary

sight
noun
us

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/sɑɪt/

sight noun (SEEING)

[ U ]
the ability to see, or the act of seeing something:
Machines don’t have a sense of sight.
The sight of sick children disturbs her.
I know David by sight (= I know what he looks like).
Officers arrested the looters on sight (= as soon as they saw them).

sight noun (VIEW)

[ C/U ]
something that is in someone’s view, or the view someone has:
[ C ] The finish line was a welcome sight for the runners.
[ C ] Don’t let the children out of your sight.
[ U ] Keep your bags in sight.
[ C/U ]
A sight is also an interesting place:
[ C ] No sights in Moscow are more historic than the Kremlin.

sight noun (GUN PART)

[ C ]
a device, esp. on a gun or telescope (= device for looking at objects that are far away), through which you look to help you aim at something:
Locate the target in your sight.

Idioms

a sight for sore eyes
sight unseen
sight
verb [ T ]
us

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/sɑɪt̬/

sight verb [T] (SEE)

to suddenly see something or someone:
After several days at sea, the sailors finally sighted land.
(Definition of sight from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

sight | Business English

sight
noun [ U ]
  BANKING, FINANCE
uk

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 after sight
used to say that an amount of money must be paid within a particular number of days, months, etc. after the document showing the amount owed is received by the person paying:
The bill read "30 days after sight."
a draft payable at two months after sight
 at sight
used to say that an amount of money must be paid as soon as the document showing the amount owed is received by the person paying:
The bank draft was marked "at sight".
a bill that is payable at sight
Compare
on demand
(Definition of sight from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translations of sight

in Chinese (Traditional)
視力, 景象, 所見之物…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
视力, 景象, 所见之物…
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in Spanish
vista, visión, imagen…
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in Portuguese
visão, visão [feminine], vista [feminine]…
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in more languages
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Arabic
in Czech
in Danish
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Korean
in Ukrainian
in Italian
in Russian
視力, 視覚, 見ること…
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görme gücü, görünüm, görünüş…
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vue [feminine], spectacle [masculine], vue…
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vista, visió, imatge…
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إبْصار, رُؤية, مَنْظَر…
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zrak, dohled, pozoruhodnost…
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syn, synsafstand, sigte…
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penglihatan, pandangan, pemandangan…
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กำลังสายตา, การมองเห็น, สิ่งที่น่ามอง…
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thị lực, tầm nhìn, thắng cảnh…
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wzrok, pole widzenia, zasięg wzroku…
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penglihatan, dapat dilihat, pemandangan…
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das Sehvermögen, die Sicht(-weite), die Sehenswürdigkeit…
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syn [neuter], syne synsvidde [neuter], synsvidde [masculine]…
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시력, 보기, 광경…
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зір, поле зору, визначні місця…
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vista, immagine, (luogo di interesse turistico)…
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зрение, поле зрения, вид…
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