SIGHT, n.

1. The act of seeing; perception of objects by the eye; view; as, to gain sight of land; to have a sight of a landscape; to lose sight of a ship at sea. A cloud received him out of their sight. – Acts i.
2. The faculty of vision, or of perceiving objects by the instrumentality of the eyes. It has been doubted whether moles have sight. Milton lost his sight. The sight usually fails at or before fifty years of age. O loss of sight, of thee I most complain. – Milton.
3. Open view; the state of admitting unobstructed vision; a being within the limits of vision. The harbor is in sight of the town. The shore of Long Island is in sight of New Haven. The White mountain is in plain sight at Portland, in Maine; a mountain is or is not within sight; an engagement at sea is within sight of land.
4. Notice from seeing; knowledge; as, a letter intended for the sight of one person only.
5. Eye; the instrument of seeing. From the depth of hell they lift their sight. – Dryden.
6. An aperture through which objects are to be seen; or something to direct the vision; as, the sight of a quadrant; the sight of a fowling-piece or a rifle.
7. That which is beheld; a spectacle; a show; particularly, something novel and remarkable; something wonderful. They never saw a sight so fair. – Spenser. Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned. – Exod. iii. Fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. – Luke xxi. To take sight, to take aim; to look for the purpose of directing a piece of artillery, &c.

1. The act of seeing; perception of objects by the eye; view; as, to gain sight of land.
   
   

   A cloud received him out of their sight. Acts. i. 9.

2. To get sight of] to see; as, to sight land; to sight a wreck.
   
   
   Kane.
3. To take aim by a sight.
4. The power of seeing; the faculty of vision, or of perceiving objects by the instrumentality of the eyes.
   
   

   Thy sight is young,
   And thou shalt read when mine begin to dazzle. Shak.

   O loss of sight, of thee I most complain! Milton.

5. To look at through a sight; to see accurately; as, to sight an object, as a star.
6. The state of admitting unobstructed vision; visibility; open view; region which the eye at one time surveys; space through which the power of vision extends; as, an object within sight.
7. To apply sights to; to adjust the sights of; also, to give the proper elevation and direction to by means of a sight; as, to sight a rifle or a cannon.
8. A spectacle; a view; a show; something worth seeing.
   
   

   Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. Ex. iii. 3.

   They never saw a sight so fair. Spenser.

9. The instrument of seeing; the eye.
   
   

   Why cloud they not their sights? Shak.

10. Inspection; examination; as, a letter intended for the sight of only one person.
11. Mental view; opinion; judgment; as, in their sight it was harmless.
    
    
    Wake.

    That which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. Luke xvi. 15.

12. A small aperture through which objects are to be seen, and by which their direction is settled or ascertained; as, the sight of a quadrant.
    
    

    Thier eyes of fire sparking through sights of steel. Shak.

13. A small piece of metal, fixed or movable, on the breech, muzzle, center, or trunnion of a gun, or on the breech and the muzzle of a rifle, pistol, etc., by means of which the eye is guided in aiming.
    
    
    Farrow.
14. In a drawing, picture, etc., that part of the surface, as of paper or canvas, which is within the frame or the border or margin. In a frame or the like, the open space, the opening.
15. A great number, quantity, or sum; as, a sight of money.
    
    
    [Now colloquial]

    * Sight in this last sense was formerly employed in the best usage. "A sight of lawyers." Latimer.

    A wonder sight of flowers. Gower.

    At sight, as soon as seen, or presented to sight; as, a draft payable at sight: to read Greek at sight; to shoot a person at sight. -- Front sight (Firearms), the sioht nearost the ouzzle. -- Open sight. (Firearms) (a) A front sight through which the objects aimed at may be seen, in distinction from one that hides the object. (b) A rear sight having an open notch instead of an aperture. -- Peep sight, Rear sight. See under Peep, and Rear. -- Sight draft, an order, or bill of exchange, directing the payment of money at sight. -- To take sight, to take aim; to look for the purpose of directing a piece of artillery, or the like.

    Syn. -- Vision; view; show; spectacle; representation; exhibition.