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# sighting

noun (a sighting, sightings); verb form (-ing form of «sight»)

«sighting» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A sighting is an occasion when someone sees something rare, unusual or wanted: a bird, a whale, a UFO or a missing person. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sighting/#m1)
2. «Sighting» is also the -ing form of «sight» (to see or catch sight of), or of aiming a gun or telescope (sighting it). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sighting/#m2)

### In the lessons

In nature lessons, birdwatchers record sightings of birds in a log; scientists count sightings to see if animals are rare. In news, police ask for sightings of a missing person or animal. In stories, «UFO sightings» and «ghost sightings» are unproven reports. Phrases: «a rare sighting», «reported sightings», «first sighting», «UFO sighting».

### Examples

- There was a rare sighting of a kingfisher by the river. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sighting/#x1)
- Our class recorded ten bird sightings in one hour. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sighting/#x2)
- Police asked for any sightings of the missing dog. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sighting/#x3)
- The first sighting of land made the sailors cheer. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sighting/#x4)
- There have been many UFO sightings, but none has been proved. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sighting/#x5)
- The tally chart showed sightings of each bird. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sighting/#x6)

### Note

Countable. A sighting is a report that someone saw something; it is not proof. Do not confuse with «siting» (choosing the place for something) or «citing» (quoting), which sound the same. In tally and data problems, each sighting counts as one.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «sighting» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sighting/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«sighting» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sighting.html) on Mova free.