# see

Pronunciation: say "SEE" US /ˈsi/, UK /ˈsiː/

## Verb

1. To perceive with the eyes, or as if by sight.
   - Simple: To notice something with your eyes.
   - _Did you see the eclipse last night?_
   - _From the ridge you can see three counties._
2. To be present for or go through something oneself, so that one knows it at first hand.
   - Simple: To experience or witness something yourself.
   - _I've seen worse storms than this._
   - _You'll see a lot of changes when you get back._
3. To understand or grasp something, or to come to realize the truth, especially that one had been mistaken.
   - Simple: To understand something, or to finally realize what is true.
   - _I don't see the point of the meeting._
   - _She saw at once what he was after._
4. To form a mental picture of something, or to regard it in a particular way.
   - Simple: To picture something in your mind, or to think of it in a certain way.
   - _Try to see the problem from her side._
   - _Many people saw the deal as a betrayal._
5. To find out by trial or experiment, often with whether or if.
   - Simple: To find out by trying, often with 'if' or 'whether'.
   - _Let's see whether the glue holds._
   - _Taste it and see if it needs salt._
6. Used in the imperative to tell a reader to consult something for further details.
   - Simple: Used to tell readers where to look for more details.
   - _For prices, see the table on page ten._
   - _See also the entry for turn._
7. Of a time, place, or thing, to be when or where something happens, or to have gone through it as part of its history.
   - Simple: Of a place, time or thing, to have something happen in it or to it.
   - _The bridge has seen better days._
   - _Next year will see the opening of a new hospital in the town._
8. To watch a film, show, play, concert or sports event, whether live or on a screen.
   - Simple: To watch a film, show, play or game.
   - _We saw the match at a friend's house._
   - _You have to see this documentary._
9. To meet, visit, or have an appointment with someone, such as a friend, a doctor, or another professional.
   - Simple: To meet or visit someone, for example a friend or a doctor.
   - _Can I see you for a minute after class?_
   - _We're driving up to see my grandparents over the long weekend._
10. To date someone regularly.
   - Simple: To go out with someone as a boyfriend or girlfriend.
   - _They started seeing each other last spring._
   - _He wants to see other people._
11. Chiefly with that, to ensure that something happens, often by being there.
   - Simple: To make sure that something happens, often by being there.
   - _Please see that the door is locked._
   - _Will you see that the children get fed before you leave tonight?_
12. To foresee, predict or prophesy.
   - Simple: To know or guess what is going to happen in the future.
   - _Nobody saw the crash coming._
   - _I can see trouble ahead if we go on like this._
14. To examine something closely, or to borrow and use it briefly.
   - Simple: To take a look at something, or borrow it for a moment.
   - _May I see the menu?_
   - _Can I see your phone a moment? Mine's dead._
15. To escort, attend or accompany someone somewhere.
   - Simple: To go with someone to a place, such as the door or their car.
   - _Let me see you to your car._
   - _The nurse saw him back to the ward._
16. Used as you see, or as see? at the end of a sentence, to stress a point or draw attention to an explanation.
   - Simple: Used to make what you are saying stronger.
   - _I told you it would rain, you see._
   - _We do things properly here, see?_
17. In gambling, to answer another player's bet with a bet of equal value, often before raising it.
   - Simple: In poker, to match another player's bet.
   - _She saw the raise without a flicker._
   - _If you can't see the bet, fold._

## Interjection

13. Used to introduce an explanation, like look, well or so.
   - Simple: A word used to start an explanation, like 'look' or 'well'.
   - _See, I would have called you, but my phone died on the way home._
   - _See, it works if you hold it this way._

## Noun

18. The area under the authority of a bishop or archbishop, or the office of bishop or archbishop itself.
   - Simple: The area a bishop or archbishop is in charge of, or the job of being its bishop.
   - _He was appointed to a see in the north._
   - _The two sees were merged in the last century._

## Noun

19. A seat or site, especially one from which a sovereign exercises power. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A place where a ruler sits and holds power, in old poetry.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–17** — The word goes back to the Proto-Indo-European root *sekʷ- ("to see, notice"), which gave Proto-Germanic *sehwaną and then Old English sēon ("to see, look, perceive, understand"), the source of Middle English seen. Dutch zien, German sehen, and Scandinavian se are relatives.
**Meanings 18–19** — Latin sēdēs ("seat"), used of the bishop's throne in a cathedral, became Old French sie ("seat, throne, episcopal see") and then Middle English se. The Latin noun is connected with the verb sedēre ("to sit"), and the English word is a doublet of sedes.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/see (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).