see
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: sē
ipa: /ˈsiː/
ipa: /ˈsi/
homophone: C
homophone: cee
homophone: sea
homophone: Seay
homophone: si
rhymes: -iː
Forms: form: sees
form: seeing
form: saw
form: seen
form: seent
form: seed
form: seen
form: seent
form: seed
form: saw
form: no-table-tags
form: glossary
form: see
form: see
form: saw
form: see
form: seest
form: saw
form: sawest
form: sees
form: seeth
form: saw
form: see
form: saw
form: see
form: saw
form: see
form: -
form: seeing
form: seen
Etymology: From Middle English seen, from Old English sēon (“to see, look, behold, perceive, observe, discern, understand, know”), from Proto-West Germanic *sehwan, from Proto-Germanic *sehwaną (“to see”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to see, notice”).
Cognates
Cognate with West Frisian sjen (“to see”), Dutch zien (“to see”), Low German sehn, German sehen (“to see”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Bokmål se (“to see”), Norwegian Nynorsk sjå (“to see”), and more distantly with Latin sīgnum (“sign, token”), Albanian shih (“look at, see”) imperative of shoh (“to see”).
Senses: examples: text: Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path.[…]It twisted and turned,[…]and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn. And, back of the lawn, was a big, old-fashioned house, with piazzas stretching in front of it, and all blazing with lights. 'Twas the house I'd seen the roof of from the beach.
ref: 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 18:
text: But Richmond[…]appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. Some pickled crab, which he had not touched, had been removed with a damson pie; and his sister saw[…]that he had eaten no more than a spoonful of that either.
ref: 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
text: To see us, you'd think we've been married for years, but actually just met a few months ago.
ref: 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
glosses: To perceive or detect someone or something with the eyes, or as if by sight.
examples: text: Now I've seen it all!
text: I'm seeing much better since I got my eyeglasses recalibrated.
text: I have been blind since birth and I love to read Braille. When the books arrive in from the library, I can’t wait to see what stories they have sent me.
text: Uerely, verely I ſay vnto you, If a man keepe my ſaying, hee ſhall neuer ſee death.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 8:51, column 1:
text: […] And remember this, 'scape-gallows,' said Ralph, menacing him with his hand, 'that if we meet again, and you so much as notice me by one begging gesture, you shall see the inside of a jail once more […]
ref: 1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, “Mr. Ralph Nickleby cuts an old Acquaintance. It would also appear from the contents hereof, that a joke, even between Husband and Wife, may be sometimes carried too far.”, in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 434:
glosses: To perceive or detect someone or something with the eyes, or as if by sight.
To witness or observe by personal experience.
hyponyms: experience
suffer
examples: text: I saw the latest Tarantino flick last week.
glosses: To perceive or detect someone or something with the eyes, or as if by sight.
To watch (a movie) at a cinema, or a show on television etc.
examples: text: It is not just that we see birds as little versions of ourselves. It is also that, at the same time, they stand outside any moral process. They are utterly indifferent. This absolute oblivion on their part, this lack of sharing, is powerful.
ref: 2013 August 23, Mark Cocker, “Wings of Desire”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 11, page 28:
text: The question of the plausibility of the counter-factual is seen as key in all three discussions of allohistorical fiction (as it is in Demandt's and Ferguson's examinations of allohistory) (cf. Rodiek 25–26; Ritter 15–16; Helbig 32).
ref: 2014 October 14, David Malcolm, “The Great War Re-Remembered: Allohistory and Allohistorical Fiction”, in Martin Löschnigg, Marzena Sokolowska-Paryz, editors, The Great War in Post-Memory Literature and Film, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG., →ISBN, page 173:
glosses: To form a mental picture of.
examples: text: Do you see what I mean?
text: Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic[…]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become.[…]But the scandals kept coming[…]. A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul.
ref: 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
glosses: To form a mental picture of.
To understand.
examples: text: They're blind to the damage they do, but someday they'll see.
glosses: To form a mental picture of.
To come to a realization of having been mistaken or misled.
examples: text: The oracle saw the destruction of the city.
text: I can't see me lovin' nobody but you / For all my life / When you're with me, baby the skies'll be blue / For all my life
ref: 1967, Alan Gordon, Garry Bonner, “Happy Together”, performed by The Turtles:
glosses: To form a mental picture of.
To foresee, predict, or prophesy.
examples: text: You see, Johnny, your Dad isn't your real father.
text: You're not welcome here any more, see?
glosses: To form a mental picture of.
Used to emphasise a proposition.
raw_tags: used in the imperative
examples: text: You'd better see about that with the boss.
text: And Samuel came no more to ſee Saul vntill the day of his death: neuertheleſſe, Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king ouer Iſrael.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 15:35, column 2:
qualifier: social
glosses: To meet, to visit.
To have an interview with; especially, to make a call upon; to visit.
examples: text: I've been seeing her for two months.
text: "You're... remarrying? I didn't even know you were seeing someone. And she's going to live here?"
ref: 2022 September 9, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Friday, Sep 9, 2022:
qualifier: social
glosses: To meet, to visit.
To date frequently.
examples: text: You should see a doctor about that rash on your arm.
text: I've been seeing a therapist for three years now.
qualifier: social
glosses: To meet, to visit.
To visit for a medical appointment.
examples: text: The 20th century saw humanity's first space exploration.
text: 1999 saw the release of many great films.
text: It seems as if every passing year sees the mainstream embrace a longtime cult-favorite alternative rock band.
ref: 1995 June 3, David Sprague, “Buffalo Tom Reaches Crossroads: EastWest Trio At Make-Or-Break Point”, in Billboard, volume 107, number 22, page 9:
glosses: To be the setting or time of.
examples: text: I'll see you hang for this
text: I was at the docks seeing that the goods got properly unloaded.
text: I saw that they didn't make any more trouble.
text: As to eleemoſynary corporations, by the dotation the founder and his heirs are of common right the legal viſitors, to ſee that that property is rightly employed, which would otherwiſe have deſcended to the viſitor himſelf: […]
ref: 1765, William Blackstone, “Of Corporations”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book I (Of the Rights of Persons), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 469:
text: 'Don't worry. You won't lose out. I'll see you get your share of the action. If not now, later.'
ref: 2001, Joan Lock, Death in Perspective, London: Robert Hale, →ISBN, page 52:
text: We have forgotten that such a transition will require compromise, as we address real energy needs today, and investment, as we adapt to cleaner ways of producing energy tomorrow. A well-managed transition will see that the opportunities flowing from the transformation dramatically exceed these costs.
ref: 2022 October 27, Brian Porter, “The last barrel of oil should be a Canadian one”, in The Globe and Mail, Toronto, ON: The Woodbridge Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Dec 2022:
glosses: Chiefly followed by that: to ensure that something happens, especially by personally witnessing it.
examples: text: I saw the old lady safely across the road.
text: You can see yourself out.
text: And in this Name we overcome, for You shall see us safely home.
ref: 2020, Rich Thompson, Jonny Robinson, “Your Will Be Done”:
glosses: To wait upon; attend, escort.
examples: text: I'll see your twenty dollars and raise you ten.
topics: gambling
games
glosses: To respond to another player's bet with a bet of equal value.
examples: text: I'll come over later and see if I can fix your computer.
text: You think I can't beat you in a race, eh? We'll see.
text: Look to see if these jeans still fit you.
glosses: To determine by trial or experiment; to find out (if or whether).
examples: text: Step 4: In the system, check out the laptop to the student (see: "Logging Resources" in the Tutor Manual).
text: For a complete proof of the Poincaré conjecture, see Appendix C.
glosses: To reference or to study for further details.
raw_tags: used in the imperative
examples: text: Can I see that lighter for a second? Mine just quit working.
glosses: To examine something closely, or to utilize something, often as a temporary alternative.
examples: text: The equipment has not seen usage outside of our projects.
text: I saw military service in Vietnam.
glosses: To include as one of something's experiences.
Synonyms: sense: perceive with the eyes
word: behold
sense: perceive with the eyes
word: descry
sense: perceive with the eyes
word: espy
sense: perceive with the eyes
word: observe
sense: perceive with the eyes
word: view
sense: understand
word: follow
sense: understand
word: get
sense: understand
word: understand
sense: date frequently
word: go out
word: date
word: decern
word: notice
word: pipe
word: spot
Hyponyms: word: bird dog
word: glance
word: look
word: look at
word: observe
word: pry
word: stare
word: watch
word: gape
word: look-see
word: identify
word: leer
word: look around
word: ogle
word: peek
word: peep
word: peer
word: sight
word: spy
word: witness
Derived terms: aftersee
all-seeing eye
as far as the eye can see
as far as the eye could see
as I see it
believing is seeing
besee
be seeing ya
be seeing you
children should be seen and not heard
fancy seeing you here
for all the world to see
foresee
forsee
can see to can't see
go-see
half-seen
happy to see someone
have seen better days
have seen one's day
have seen one's last gum tree
have seen this film
have seen this movie
how see
I'd like to see someone try
if I ever saw one
if I've ever seen one
if you see something, say something
if you see what I mean
I know it when I see it
I like to see you try
I'll believe it when I see it
I'll be seeing you
I'll see myself out
ill-seen
I'll see you and raise you
insee
I see
I see it in someone's eyes
I see what you did there
I see you
is that a gun in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me
lai see
leave someone on seen
let me see
let's see
let the dog see the rabbit
let us see
long time no see
lookers-on see most of the game
look-see
missee
must-see
no eye see
no-see-um
nothing to see
nothing to see here
not if I see you first
not see for looking
not see someone for dust
not see straight
nowhere to be seen
now I've seen everything
o-mok-see
outsee
oversee
plain to see
pre-see
raise the flag and see who salutes
remain to be seen
about
after
also
a man
a man about a dog
a man about a horse
an argument
and be seen
a way clear to
a wolf
beyond
beyond the end of one's nose
beyond the tip of one's nose
see-bright
coming
daylight
dollar signs
double
eye to eye
fit
for
for oneself
here
how
how the land lies
hum
if I care
in
seeing as
seeing-eye
seeing eye ball
seeing eye dog
seeing is believing
seeing stone
seeing that
seeing-to
into
into a millstone
light
mui
Naples and die
off
oneself out
one's way clear to
one's way to
out
over
past
past the end of one's nose
past the tip of one's nose
reason
red
see-saw
see-see
see-see partridge
sense
service
shit
someone right
someone's etchings
something green in one's eye
stars
that
the back of
the dark side of the moon
the day
the elephant
the error of one's ways
the forest but for the trees
the forest for the trees
the forest through the trees
the glass half-empty
the glass half-full
the last of
the light
the light of day
the point
the same way
the trees through the forest
the way clear to
the wood for the trees
the woods for the trees
the world
things
through a millstone
see-throughness
see-through
through
see-thru
to
to it
what sticks
which way the cat jumps
with half an eye
ya
yellow
you
you around
you in hell
you in the funny pages
you in the funny papers
you Jimmy hat
you later
you later alligator
you next Thursday
you next Tuesday
you round
you soon
you tomorrow
you when I see you
send it up the flagpole and see who salutes
should see the other guy
sight-see
sight-seeing
sip-and-see
sip-and-see party
suck it and see
that which has been seen cannot be unseen
there are none so blind as those who will not see
there for everyone to see
there's none so blind as those who will not see
throw things at the wall and see what sticks
titular see
undersee
unsee
wait and see
wait-and-see
well-seen
what has been seen cannot be unseen
what you see is what you get
what-you-see-is-what-you-get
worth seeing
wouldn't be seen dead
you see
Related terms: word: eye
word: eyeball
word: get a load of
word: glimpse
word: peeping Tom
word: take a gander
word: deem