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sightline

sightline

4 4.8
A clear view from a seat or position to what you are looking at
  • noun
  • /ˈsaɪtˌlaɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : línea de visión
  • Watch your sightlines.
  • good sightlines
  • clear sightlines
  • well-designed sightlines

Examples

  • In practical terms, the old design blocked sightlines of the park's interior from surrounding sidewalks.

    Blog text (1)
  • Tanner followed her sightline, but there was nothing there.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The sightline goes straight down the back to where those gentlemen are now.

  • "Please!" Two hands reached down, and Rachel was lifted above our sightline.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The Secretary returns, blocking the sightline.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • I was trying to pay attention, but mostly I just looked at him: I got the president in my sightline and I stared at him.

    Blog text (18)
  • Sightlines directly in front of the door.

  • I don't think Miller Park has better sightlines, frankly.

    Blog text (26)
  • Clearer sightlines would be even better, although getting them clear enough is probably a structural impossibility.

    Blog text (27)
  • The theater's design ensures that every seat has an unobstructed sightline to the stage.

Synonyms

line of sight
vssightline
19 3.5

A straight view from your eye to an object with nothing blocking it

focuses on clear unobstructed view from a specific position in design
line of vision
vssightline
2 3.8

A straight path from your eyes along which you see

refers to a clear unobstructed view from one position in a space
eyeline
vssightline
  • Specialized
1 4.4

The line that shows where a person is looking

applies to seating and design to stress an unobstructed view from one place

How Clear

panorama
8 4.8
sightline
  • Specialized
4 4.8
view
48 2.7

Surface Forms

sightline singular
sightlines plural

Morphology

sightline = sight + line (transparent) = sight + line

A direct compound of 'sight' + 'line' whose meaning 'line of vision' is predictably derived from its parts.

Etymology

Sightline comes from two simple words: sight ('seeing') and line ('a straight path'). A helpful way to remember it is to imagine a straight line from your eyes to the stage or a picture; that clear view is what people mean by a sightline in buildings and theatres.