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sighting

sighting

141 4.0
A time when someone sees something rare or unexpected
  • noun
  • /ˈsaɪtɪŋ/
translation icon : avistamiento
  • After months of searching, we finally had a sighting of the elusive bird in the dense forest.
  • report a sighting
  • record a sighting
  • shark sightings

Examples

  • That puts him 20 miles from the sighting in Hexham.

  • And there are scattered reports of sightings over Miami, Ft. Worth, and Memphis.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • We still have no sighting and no comments from the Captain himself.

  • The date of the first sighting was given as May 15 rather than May 13.

    Academic text (2017)
  • There has not been a single confirmed sighting of an animal in my lifetime.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • There are more sightings here than ever before.

  • We have a sighting of the parachute.

  • And considering how few sightings there have been of any large avians, they must be rare.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Greve's chance encounter was one of an increasing number of aye-aye sightings in the last decade.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The first visit to the Kinabatangan River produced six sightings of solitary orangutans.

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

detection
vssighting
91 2.9

Finding or noticing something that is hidden and hard to see

is an actual visual event rather than a process of discovery
glimpse
vssighting
69 3.2

A small, quick sign that something may be true

involves a clearer full viewing that marks a notable or unexpected occasion
spotting
vssighting
4 3.8

Seeing or noticing something, often from a distance

happens when something is seen unexpectedly or as a rare occasion

Compounds

9.9

A person who says they saw a strange round creature in blurry photos

How Clear

sighting
141 4.0
glimpse
170 3.0
blobsquatch sighting
  • Neologism
9.9

Surface Forms

sighting singular
sightings plural

Morphology

sighting = sight (transparent) = sight + ing

The noun is a straightforward nominalization of the verb 'sight' with '-ing', meaning an occasion of seeing.

Etymology

Sighting comes from sight meaning 'seeing' or 'something seen' and the ending -ing that turns it into an event. So a sighting is an occasion when someone sees something, often something rare or unexpected.