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to hide in plain sight

to hide in plain sight

3 5.2
To be easy to see but not noticed by others
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : ocultar a plena vista
  • Many important details can hide in plain sight if we're not paying close attention.

I I wasn't, I was an addict hiding in plain sight.

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Examples

  • Well, there's an interesting phenomenon that's kind of hiding in plain sight, which is that the next most obvious atomic unit are content creators.

  • In other words, for Leah and for the sociologist Zara Bible, what hides in plain Sight shows us a lot about who we are and how we think.

  • And this was a story, by and large, hiding in plain sight in the Yale archives.

  • It's because of what was found hiding in plain sight on the LCQB website.

  • For example, can you spot the octopus hiding in plain sight right here?

  • Narcissism is hiding in plain sight all around you.

  • You could call them the disappeared, but that's not a very apt description since they are hiding in plain sight.

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  • In the crowded market, the thief managed to hide in plain sight among the shoppers.

  • The artist's work was so skillfully integrated that it seemed to hide in plain sight on the wall.

Synonyms

to fly under the radar
vsto hide in plain sight
  • Informal
9 5.9

To avoid being noticed by other people

is noticeable yet not recognized rather than being quietly unseen
to slip under the radar
vsto hide in plain sight
  • Informal
1 6.3

To go unnoticed by people or officials

is noticeable yet not recognized by others

How Stealthy

to hide in plain sight
  • Informal
3 5.2
to loiter
26 5.4
to hang around
  • Informal
407 2.0

Surface Forms

hide in plain sight infinitive
hiding in plain sight present participle
hides in plain sight third person singular
hidden in plain sight past participle

Morphology

hide + in + plain + sight

The phrase combines literal meanings ('hide' = conceal, 'plain sight' = clearly visible) into a paradoxical idiom whose sense — being visible but unnoticed — requires pragmatic inference beyond simple composition. A learner who knows the component words will see the parts but may not predict the ironic/idiomatic interpretation without prior exposure or explanation, so it is only partly transparent.

Etymology

Hide in plain sight paints a simple picture: someone who hides by staying where everyone can see, like a spy dressed as a normal person so they blend in with a crowd. That's why it means 'to be obvious but not noticed'.