# see

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈsiː/ · frequency rank #85

## Definitions
1. To perceive or detect someone or something with the eyes, or as if by sight.
2. To perceive or detect someone or something with the eyes, or as if by sight.
3. To perceive or detect someone or something with the eyes, or as if by sight.
4. To form a mental picture of.
5. To form a mental picture of.
6. To form a mental picture of.
7. To form a mental picture of.
8. To form a mental picture of.
9. To meet, to visit.
10. To meet, to visit.
11. To meet, to visit.
12. To be the setting or time of.
13. Chiefly followed by that: to ensure that something happens, especially by personally witnessing it.
14. To wait upon; attend, escort.
15. To respond to another player's bet with a bet of equal value.
16. To determine by trial or experiment; to find out (if or whether).
17. To reference or to study for further details.
18. To examine something closely, or to utilize something, often as a temporary alternative.
19. To include as one of something's experiences.

## Etymology
From Middle English seen, from Old English sēon (“to see, look, behold, perceive, observe, discern, understand, know”), from Proto-West Germanic *sehwan, from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną (“to see”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to see, notice”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots see, sei (“to see”), Yola sau, ze, zee, zey, zie (“to see”), North Frisian se, si, siin, siine, siinj, sä, säie (“to see”), Saterland Frisian sjo (“to see”), West Frisian sjen (“to see”), Bavarian segn (“to see”), Central Franconian sehn, senn (“to see”), Dutch zien (“to see”), Low German sehn (“to see; to look”), German sehen, sehn (“to see”), Limburgish séëne, zeen (“to see”), Luxembourgish gesinn (“to see”), Mòcheno sechen (“to see”), Vilamovian zaon (“to see”), Yiddish זען (zen, “to see”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål se (“to see”), Elfdalian sją̊ (“to see”), Faroese síggja (“to see”), Icelandic sjá (“to see”), Norwegian Nynorsk sjå (“to see”), Swedish se (“to see”), sia (“to foretell”), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌹𐍈𐌰𐌽 (saiƕan, “to see”), and more distantly with Albanian shof, shoh (“to see”), Latin secūtus, sequūtus (“followed”), Ancient Greek ἕπομαι (hépomai, “to follow, obey”), Persian ا (a), از (az), ز (ze, “from, of”), Luwian 𒁕𒀀𒌋𒄿𒅖 (“eye”), Sanskrit सच् (sac, “to be associated with, familiar with, have to do with”).

## Easily confused with
- **so** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-so)
- **SI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-si)
- **SS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-ss)
- **SP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sp)
- **su** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-su)
- **sf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sf)
- **sh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sh)
- **SM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sm)
- **SW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sw)
- **SL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sl)
- **SG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sg)
- **SK** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sk)
- **SV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sv)
- **SJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sj)
- **Sy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sy)
- **she** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-she)
- **set** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-set)
- **six** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-six)
- **son** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-son)
- **sex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/see-vs-sex)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/see