Library / English Dictionary

SIGHT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of looking or seeing or observing

Example:

his survey of the battlefield was limited

Synonyms:

sight; survey; view

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("sight" is a kind of...):

look; looking; looking at (the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sight"):

eyeful (a full view; a good look)

Derivation:

sight (catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The range of vision

Example:

out of sight of land

Synonyms:

ken; sight

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("sight" is a kind of...):

compass; grasp; range; reach (the limit of capability)

Derivation:

sight (catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The ability to see; the visual faculty

Synonyms:

sight; vision; visual modality; visual sense

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("sight" is a kind of...):

modality; sense modality; sensory system (a particular sense)

exteroception (sensitivity to stimuli originating outside of the body)

Domain member category:

visual system (the sensory system for vision)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sight"):

peripheral vision (vision at the edges of the visual field using only the periphery of the retina)

daylight vision; photopic vision (normal vision in daylight; vision with sufficient illumination that the cones are active and hue is perceived)

night-sight; night vision; scotopic vision; twilight vision (the ability to see in reduced illumination (as in moonlight))

near vision (vision for objects 2 feet or closer to the viewer)

monocular vision (vision with only one eye)

eyesight; seeing; sightedness (normal use of the faculty of vision)

distance vision (vision for objects that a 20 feet or more from the viewer)

chromatic vision; color vision; trichromacy (the normal ability to see colors)

central vision (vision using the fovea and parafovea; the middle part of the visual field)

binocular vision (vision involving the use of both eyes)

acuity; sharp-sightedness; visual acuity (sharpness of vision; the visual ability to resolve fine detail (usually measured by a Snellen chart))

achromatic vision (vision using the rods)

stigmatism (normal eyesight)

Derivation:

sight (catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An instance of visual perception

Example:

the train was an unexpected sight

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("sight" is a kind of...):

visual image; visual percept (a percept that arises from the eyes; an image in the visual system)

Derivation:

sight (catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A range of mental vision

Example:

in his sight she could do no wrong

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("sight" is a kind of...):

perspective; position; view (a way of regarding situations or topics etc.)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Anything that is seen

Example:

they went to Paris to see the sights

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("sight" is a kind of...):

display (exhibiting openly in public view)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sight"):

spectacle (something or someone seen (especially a notable or unusual sight))

Derivation:

sight (catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes)

Sense 7

Meaning:

(often followed by 'of') a large number or amount or extent

Example:

a wad of money

Synonyms:

batch; deal; flock; good deal; great deal; hatful; heap; lot; mass; mess; mickle; mint; mountain; muckle; passel; peck; pile; plenty; pot; quite a little; raft; sight; slew; spate; stack; tidy sum; wad

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("sight" is a kind of...):

large indefinite amount; large indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sight"):

deluge; flood; inundation; torrent (an overwhelming number or amount)

haymow (a mass of hay piled up in a barn for preservation)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes

Example:

he caught sight of the king's men coming over the ridge

Synonyms:

sight; spy

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "sight" is one way to...):

comprehend; perceive (to become aware of through the senses)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sight"):

descry; espy; spot; spy (catch sight of)

detect; discover; find; notice; observe (discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

sight (the act of looking or seeing or observing)

sight (the range of vision)

sight (the ability to see; the visual faculty)

sight (an instance of visual perception)

sight (anything that is seen)

sighting (the act of observing)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Take aim by looking through the sights of a gun (or other device)

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "sight" is one way to...):

aim; direct; take; take aim; train (point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Credits

 Context examples: 

At the horror of these sights and sounds, the maid fainted.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

She had lately lost sight even of her father and sister and Bath.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Yes; I suppose you found that out by second-sight.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

This land that we have sighted is the place we have been sailing for.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Any component associated with the organ for sight or vision.

(Eye Part, NCI Thesaurus)

The organ of sight or vision.

(Eye, NCI Thesaurus)

A mad, unreasoning terror rose up in me at the sight, Mr. Holmes.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I could not shoot him at sight, or I should myself be in the dock.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In a moment he was out of sight.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

It was a dreadful sight which met us as we entered the bedroom door.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)