I. ˈsīt noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English gesiht faculty or act of sight, thing seen; akin to Old High German gisiht sight, Old English sēon to see
Date: before 12th century
1. : something that is seen : spectacle
2.
a. : a thing regarded as worth seeing — usually used in plural
the sight s of the city
b. : something ludicrous or disorderly in appearance
you look a sight
3.
a. chiefly dialect : a great number or quantity
b. : a good deal : lot
a far sight better
not by a damn sight
4.
a. : the process, power, or function of seeing ; specifically : the physical sense by which light stimuli received by the eye are interpreted by the brain and constructed into a representation of the position, shape, brightness, and usually color of objects in space
b. : mental or spiritual perception
c. : mental view ; specifically : judgment
5.
a. : the act of looking at or beholding
b. : inspection , perusal
c. : view , glimpse
d. : an observation to determine direction or position (as by a navigator)
6.
a. : a perception of an object by or as if by the eye
never lost sight of the objective
b. : the range of vision
was nowhere in sight
7. : presentation of a note or draft to the maker or draftee : demand
8.
a. : a device that aids the eye in aiming or in finding the direction of an object
b. plural : aspiration
set her sight s on a medical career
•
- in sight
- on sight
- out of sight
- sight for sore eyes
II. verb
Date: 1602
transitive verb
1. : to get or catch sight of
several whales were sight ed
2. : to look at through or as if through a sight ; especially : to test for straightness
3. : to aim by means of sights
4.
a. : to equip with sights
b. : to adjust the sights of
intransitive verb
1. : to take aim
2. : to look carefully in a particular direction
III. adjective
Date: 1801
1. : based on recognition or comprehension without previous study
sight translation
2. : payable on presentation
a sight draft