sighting

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪtɪŋ/
• Homophones: citing, siting
• Rhymes: -aɪtɪŋ

Noun

sighting (plural sightings)

1. The act of catching sight of something, especially something searched for.

   There will be a small prize for the first sighting of a seal.

   • 1961 December, “Planning the London Midland main-line electrification”, in Trains Illustrated, page 719:

     However, many people—including railwaymen—are only beginning to realise how great is the amount of civil engineering work necessary to achieve adequate clearances for high-voltage overhead equipment under bridges and tunnels; what is involved in the re-signalling needed to permit the increased throughput of traffic (in some places it is unavoidable, to afford better sighting of signals obscured by overhead electrical gear); [...].

   • 2025 August 14, Angela Haupt, “What to Know About the Horned ‘Zombie’ Rabbits Hopping Around Colorado”, in TIME‎:

     It’s unclear exactly how many infected rabbits are hopping about, but Colorado Parks and Wildlife has received more than a dozen sightings, mostly in the northern part of the state.

Translations

act of catching sight of something, especially something searched for

Dutch: waarneming (nl) German: Sichtung (de) f Italian: avvistamento m Sicilian: taliata (scn) f, alluzzata f Spanish: avistamiento (es) m, avistaje m

Verb

sighting

1. present participle and gerund of sight

References

• “sighting”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.