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sight

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "sight", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "sight" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "sight" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

sight is aEnglishnoun. It means: The ability to see. Pronounced /saɪt/. It ranks #2,808 in English word frequency. Often confused with sit and sign.

Key facts for sight
PropertyValue
Headwordsight
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/saɪt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,808
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of sight in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for sight is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /saɪt/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,808 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 8 documented wrong-spelling variants for sight, with forms such as "isght", "sgiht", and "sigght". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sit", "sign", "Sikh", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English siȝht, siȝt, siht, from Old English siht, sihþ (“something seen; vision”), from Proto-West Germanic *sihti, equivalent to see + -t. Cognate with Scots sicht, Saterland Frisian Sicht, West Frisian sicht, Dutch zicht, German Low German Sic… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is sight, spelled S-I-G-H-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The ability to see.
  2. 2
    The act of seeing; perception of objects by the eye; view.
  3. 3
    Something seen.
  4. 4
    Something worth seeing; a spectacle, either good or bad.
  5. 5
    A device used in aiming a projectile, through which the person aiming looks at the intended target.
  6. 6
    A small aperture through which objects are to be seen, and by which their direction is settled or ascertained.
  7. 7
    a great deal, a lot; frequently used to intensify a comparative.
  8. 8
    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, the open space, the opening.
  9. 9
    The instrument of seeing; the eye.
  10. 10
    Mental view; opinion; judgment.

Etymology

From Middle English siȝht, siȝt, siht, from Old English siht, sihþ (“something seen; vision”), from Proto-West Germanic *sihti, equivalent to see + -t. Cognate with Scots sicht, Saterland Frisian Sicht, West Frisian sicht, Dutch zicht, German Low German Sicht, German Sicht, Danish sigte, Swedish sikte.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: isght,sgiht,sigght,sighht,sightt,sigth,sihgt,ssight

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for sight

Misspelling Variants of "sight"

isght5sgiht5sigght6sighht6sightt6sigth5sihgt5ssight6
Misspelling Variants of "sight"

Frequency rank: #2,808 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sight"?
"sight" is spelled S-I-G-H-T. The IPA pronunciation is /saɪt/.
What does "sight" mean?
As a noun, "sight" means: The ability to see.
What words are commonly confused with "sight"?
"sight" is commonly confused with "sit", "sign", "Sikh". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sight"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sight" is /saɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sight"?
From Middle English siȝht, siȝt, siht, from Old English siht, sihþ (“something seen; vision”), from Proto-West Germanic *sihti, equivalent to see + -t. Cognate with Scots sicht, Saterland Frisian Sicht, West Frisian sicht, Dutch zicht, German Low ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter S in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.