see

present singular third person sees · participle present seeing · past saw · dialectal past seen · dialectal past seent · dialectal past seed · participle past seen · dialectal participle past seent · dialectal participle past seed · dialectal participle past saw · dialectal participle past pronunciation spelling sawn · first person past singular saw · archaic present second person singular seest · past second person singular saw · archaic past second person singular sawest · present singular third person sees

1. transitiveTo perceive or detect someone or something with the eyes, or as if by sight.

   To see us, you'd think we've been married for years, but actually just met a few months ago.

   2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

   3 more examples

   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.

   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

   I turned into the garden, and saw the flutter of her dress as she escaped down a side-walk, and heard the sound of a stifled sob.

   1878, Chamber's Journal of Popular Literature, Science and Arts, United Kingdom: W & R Chambers, page 522

   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.

   1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax

   1. transitiveTo witness or observe by personal experience.

      Now I've seen it all!

      4 more examples

      I'm seeing much better since I got my eyeglasses recalibrated.

      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.

      Uerely, verely I ſay vnto you, If a man keepe my ſaying, hee ſhall neuer ſee death.

      1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 8:51, column 1

      […] 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 […]

      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

   2. transitiveTo watch (a movie) at a cinema, or a show on television etc.

      I saw the latest Tarantino flick last week.

2. To form a mental picture of, to perceive in a certain way.

   I see it as essential that there should be somewhere to park.

   3 more examples

   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.

   2013 August 23, Mark Cocker, “Wings of Desire”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 11, page 28

   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).

   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

   Cathy and Cassie see their husbands as their best chance at securing comfortable lives.

   2026 May 27, Judy Berman, “When Did On-Screen Weddings Get So Bleak?”, in TIME, archived from the original on 28 May 2026

   1. figurativelyTo understand.

      Do you see what I mean?

      1 more example

      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.

      2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21

      Synonyms: follow, get, understand

   2. figurativelyTo come to a realization of having been mistaken or misled.

      They're blind to the damage they do, but someday they'll see.

   3. transitiveTo foresee, predict, or prophesy.

      The oracle saw the destruction of the city.

      1 more example

      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

      1967, Alan Gordon, Garry Bonner, “Happy Together”, performed by The Turtles

   4. Used to emphasise a proposition.

      You're not welcome here any more, see?

      1 more example

      You see, Johnny, your Dad isn't your real father.

3. To meet, to visit.
   1. socialTo have an interview with; especially, to make a call upon; to visit.

      You'd better see about that with the boss.

      1 more example

      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.

      1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 15:35, column 2

   2. socialTo date frequently.

      I've been seeing her for two months.

      1 more example

      "You're... remarrying? I didn't even know you were seeing someone. And she's going to live here?"

      2022 September 9, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Friday, Sep 9, 2022

      Synonyms: go out

   3. socialTo visit for an appointment, especially a medical appointment.

      I've been seeing a therapist for three years now.

      2 more examples

      You should see a doctor about that rash on your arm.

      I saw my parole officer this morning for a drug test.

   4. socialTo be attended to during an appointment, especially a medical appointment.

      The doctor will see you now.

4. ergativeTo be the setting or time of.

   1999 saw the release of many great films.

   2 more examples

   The 20th century saw humanity's first space exploration.

   It seems as if every passing year sees the mainstream embrace a longtime cult-favorite alternative rock band.

   1995 June 3, David Sprague, “Buffalo Tom Reaches Crossroads: EastWest Trio At Make-Or-Break Point”, in Billboard, volume 107, number 22, page 9

5. broadlyChiefly followed by that: to ensure that something happens, especially by personally witnessing it.

   I'll see you hang for this

   5 more examples

   I was at the docks seeing that the goods got properly unloaded.

   I saw that they didn't make any more trouble.

   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: […]

   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

   'Don't worry. You won't lose out. I'll see you get your share of the action. If not now, later.'

   2001, Joan Lock, Death in Perspective, London: Robert Hale, →ISBN, page 52

   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.

   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

6. transitiveTo wait upon; attend, escort.

   You can see yourself out.

   2 more examples

   I saw the old lady safely across the road.

   And in this Name we overcome, for You shall see us safely home.

   2020, Rich Thompson, Jonny Robinson, “Your Will Be Done”

7. transitivegamblingTo respond to another player's bet with a bet of equal value.

   I'll see your twenty dollars and raise you ten.

8. To determine by trial or experiment; to find out (if or whether).

   Look to see if these jeans still fit you.

   2 more examples

   I'll come over later and see if I can fix your computer.

   You think I can't beat you in a race, eh? We'll see.

9. To reference or to study for further details.

   For a complete proof of the Poincaré conjecture, see Appendix C.

   1 more example

   Step 4: In the system, check out the laptop to the student (see: "Logging Resources" in the Tutor Manual).

10. To examine something closely, or to utilize something, often as a temporary alternative.

    Can I see that lighter for a second? Mine just quit working.

11. To include as one of something's experiences.

    I saw military service in Vietnam.

    1 more example

    The equipment has not seen usage outside of our projects.

1. Introducing an explanation.

   See, in order to win the full prize we would have to come up with a scheme to land a rover on the Moon.

   Synonyms: look, well, so

plural sees

1. ChristianityA diocese or archdiocese: a region of a church, generally headed by a bishop or an archbishop.
2. ChristianityThe office of a bishop or archbishop.
3. A seat; a site; a place where sovereign, autonomous, or autocephalous power is exercised.

   Ioue laught on Venus from his ſouerayne ſee

   1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 2, page 478

plural sees

1. alternativeAlternative form of cee; the name of the Latin script letter C/c.

   eff you see kay why oh you.

   1996, Sycamore Review, volume 8, page 116

   5 more examples

   see, ar, eye, ee, ess, cries

   1881 April, J. B. Rundell, “The Irregularities of English Spelling: what they Cost and what they are Worth”, in The Spelling Reformer, and Journal of the English Spelling Reform Association, volume I, number 10, London, page 147

   They were still shocked if you said “eff you see kay” out loud, though it didn’t stop any of them from doing it.

   1984, Eva Holmquist, No Certain Time, Libra Publishers, →ISBN, page 17

   I hear you. But hear me out, all right? Because I mean what I’m about to say. Eff-you-see-kay-why-oh-you. Fuck you.

   2009, Eric Barnes, Shimmer, Denver, Colo.: Unbridled Books, →ISBN, page 91

   Her mother said, “Maybe you can have ‘Muck Donnas’, or we could have fish and chips.” Krissy shook her head, “Nah. We no have fwishenchit. We have Kay Eff See nuggers?”

   2020, Paul Richardson, Taylah’s Got Talent, →ISBN

   Same old answer: the eff-you-see-kay-you-pee.

   2023, Callum McSorley, chapter 15, in Squeaky Clean, Pushkin Press, →ISBN

plural Sees

1. Alternative letter-case form of see.

plural Sees

1. A surname.
   1. An English surname.
   2. A surname from German.
   3. A surname from Hokkien.

plural SEEs

1. abbreviationinitialismcomputingInitialism of single-event effect (a temporary or permanent fault caused by an ionizing radiation particle or ray striking a computer chip).
2. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Signed Exact English.