- sight
- [[t]sa͟ɪt[/t]]
♦♦1) N-UNCOUNT: oft poss N 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.
Syn:2) N-SING: the N of n 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.
3) N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft adj N A sight is something that you see.The practice of hanging clothes across the street is a common sight in many parts of the city...
We encountered the pathetic sight of a family packing up its home...
Among the most spectacular sights are the great sea-bird colonies.
4) VERB If you sight someone or something, you suddenly see them, often briefly.[V n] The security forces sighted a group of young men that had crossed the border...
[V n] A fleet of French ships was sighted in the North Sea.
Syn:5) N-COUNT: usu pl The sights of a weapon such as a rifle are the part which helps you aim it more accurately.6) N-PLURAL: usu the N, oft N of n The sights are the places that are interesting to see and that are often visited by tourists.We'd toured the sights of Paris...
I am going to show you the sights of our wonderful city...
Once at Elgin day-trippers visit a number of local sights.
7) ADV: ADV adj/adv (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. [INFORMAL]She's been no more difficult than most daughters and a sight better than some I could mention...
We weren't doing anything different to what we've always done. We're just doing it a damn sight quicker.
8) → See also , sighting9) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n 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...
Every time I catch sight of myself in the mirror, I feel so disappointed.
Syn:10) PHRASE: PHR with cl 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...
At first sight it resembles a traditional village of two-storeyed, balconied houses, set among well-tended gardens.
11) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR If something is in sight or within sight, you can see it. If it is out of sight, you cannot see it.The sandy beach was in sight...
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.
12) PHRASE: v-link PHR 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...
There is no end in sight to the struggle for power...
She was within sight of Navratilova's record of seventy-four consecutive wins.
13) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n 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...
We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that education is important for its own sake.
Syn:14) PHRASE: V inflects If you know someone by sight, you can recognize them when you see them, although you have never met them and talked to them.I knew him by sight but had never spoken with him.
15) PHRASE If you say `out of sight, out of mind', you mean that people quickly forget someone if he or she goes away.The problems of the poor are largely invisible - out of sight, out of mind.
16) PHRASE 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...
Magee was set free but British authorities were asked to arrest him on sight.
17) PHRASE: v-link PHR If you say that someone or something is not a pretty sight, you mean that it is not pleasant to look at. [INFORMAL]The bathroom is not a pretty sight. The wallpaper's peeling, the tiles are crumbling.
18) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n 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...
Although she came from a family of bankers, Franklin set her sights on a career in scientific research.
19) PHRASE: PHR after v If you agree to buy something sight unseen, you agree to buy it, even though you have not seen it and do not know what condition it is in.Although people sometimes buy property sight unseen, it's a remarkably bad idea.
English dictionary. 2008.
