I. sīt, usu -īd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English sighth, sith, siht, sight, from Old English sihth, ge sihth, ge siht; akin to Middle Low German & Middle Dutch sicht sight, Old High German siht; derivative from the root of English see
1.
a. : something that is seen or beheld : spectacle , show
a sight more familiar to our forefathers than to us — Dana Burnet
b. obsolete : vision 1
2.
a. : a thing regarded as worth seeing — used usually in plural
a tour of the sights of the city
b. : something ludicrous, surprising, shocking, or disorderly in appearance
he had fallen in a puddle and his clothes were a sight
you must get some sleep, you look a sight
c. obsolete : aspect , appearance
in sight like unto an emerald — Revelations 4:3 (Authorized Version)
3.
a. chiefly dialect : a great number or quantity
a sight of old women in decent shawls — Mary Webb
sight of cows to feed — Jean Stafford
b. chiefly dialect : a great deal : lot
thought a sight of you all my life and … tried to make you happy — J.C.Lincoln
4. dialect : a straight uninterrupted stretch (as of a road)
5.
a. : the process, power, or function of seeing : the animal sense whose end organ is the eye by which the position, shape, and color of objects are perceived or received as stimuli through the medium of light proceeding from them : eyesight , vision
b. : faculty of mental or spiritual perception resembling vision
truth as it appeared to his inward sight
— compare second sight
c. : mental view : viewpoint , opinion , judgment
abomination in the sight of God — Lk 16:15 (Authorized Version)
d. : power of seeing exercised by a particular individual
made my pledge in the cathedral in the sight of God — Frank Yerby
6.
a. : act of looking at or beholding
always fainted at the sight of blood
I know him only by sight , not intimately
b. archaic : glance , look
c. : inspection , perusal
this letter is intended for your sight only
d. : view , glimpse
window cartons giving a sight of their contents — L.A.Lewinton
e. : an observation taken for determining direction or position
when the … mate gets another sight this afternoon that'll give us a good fix of the ship's position — N.D.Ford
7.
a. : perception of an object by the eye : presence in the field of vision
caught sight of the fox
lost sight of the plane in the clouds
b. : the space through which the power of vision extends : range of view
a ship came into sight over the horizon
c. : position affording a view
came within sight of the mountains
d. : presentation of a note or draft to the maker or draftee : demand 1b
8. : opportunity of seeing, examining or investigating: as
a. : the right to a showdown in a poker game
b. : a viewing of goods arranged for prospective buyers
the diamond buyers of the world come to the monthly sight — Russell Chappell & E.W.Griffiths
9. dialect
a. : eye
b. : the pupil of the eye
c. sights plural : spectacles
10.
a. obsolete : visor
b. sights plural : the eye slits in a helmet or in the visor of a helmet
their eyes of fire, sparkling through sights of steel — Shakespeare
11.
a.
(1) : a device for guiding the eye in aiming a firearm that consists of a small often beaded projection (as a blade or a post) placed on top of the muzzle end of the barrel
(2) : a transverse bar or leaf fixed near the breech and having a notch or a hole that allows alignment with a projection at the muzzle end and is often adjustable for changes in range or direction — usually used in plural and often with pair
a pair of sights
— see open sight , panoramic sight , peep sight , telescope sight
b. : a device with a small aperture through which objects are to be seen and by which their direction is settled or ascertained
the sight of a quadrant
c. : bow sight
d. sights plural : aim , goal , aspiration
plenty of time for adjusting the business sights upward — Kiplinger Washington Letter
set its sights high for the 1949 March of Dimes — Basil O'Connor
12.
a. : a transparent pane or window through which substances or processes in a closed chamber or flue can be observed
b. : a glass vessel or tube for exhibiting the flow of oil in a lubricating arrangement
13. : the opening in a picture frame ; also : the part of a picture exposed to view within a frame
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- at first sight
- at sight
- in sight
- on sight
- out of sight
- sight for sore eyes
II. adjective
1. : calling for or based on recognition or comprehension without previous study or recourse to notes, reference books, or other aid
a sight translation
teachers should build up the sight vocabulary of children
2. : payable on presentation
sight draft
sight exchange
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. obsolete : inspect , scrutinize
2. : to get or catch sight of : see for the first time
sight a star
several whales were sighted
more than merely sighting a familiar face in a crowd — Irving Kolodin
sighted land soon after sunrise
3. : to look at through or as if through a sight ; especially : to test for straightness or trueness by looking along the length of
sight a rifle
4.
a. : to aim (a firearm) by means of sights
b. : to aim at (a target)
c. : to sight in
5.
a. : to equip with sights
b. : to adjust the sights of
the rifle was sighted to 1000 yards
6. : to present (as a bill) for payment
intransitive verb
1. : to take aim
hard to sight for the center of the greatly narrowed channel — C.S.Forester
2. : to look carefully in a certain direction
sight along the edge of a board
sight down a gun barrel
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- sight the anchor