eyesight

eyesight — noun

1. the natural power of your eyes to see and recognize the things around you; how w

1.nounA2
Definition

the natural power of your eyes to see and recognize the things around you; how well you can see.

Example

Pedro’s eyesight has been getting worse since he turned fifty.

eyesight + getting worse (deteriorating)

Minho needs to wear glasses because he has poor eyesight.

collocation: poor eyesight

Common collocations
  • good eyesight
  • poor / bad eyesight
  • normal eyesight
  • perfect eyesight
  • failing eyesight
  • weak eyesight
  • eyesight improves
  • eyesight deteriorates / gets worse
  • eyesight fails
  • lose your eyesight
  • test someone’s eyesight
  • check someone’s eyesight
Synonyms
  • sight

    More general; can also refer to the act of seeing or something that is seen (‘a beautiful sight’)

  • vision

    Slightly more formal; also used for imagination or foresight (‘a man of vision’)

  • visual acuity

    Technical or medical term for the sharpness of vision

Grammar Patterns

adjective + eyesight (e.g., good eyesight, poor eyesight)

possessive + eyesight (e.g., her eyesight, the patient's eyesight)

Usage Note

Eyesight is an uncountable noun — it is not used with ‘a/an’ or in the plural form (‘eyesights’). Common collocations include good/poor/normal eyesight and eyesight gets worse/improves.

Common Mistakes

❗ ‘I have a good eyesight.’ ✅ ‘I have good eyesight.’ — Eyesight is uncountable; do not add ‘a’ before it.

❗ ‘My eyesights are getting worse.’ ✅ ‘My eyesight is getting worse.’ — Eyesight has no plural form.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While all three words relate to seeing, they differ in scope and register. ‘Sight’ is the broadest term — it covers both the physical ability to see (‘losing your sight’) and the thing you see (‘a beautiful sight’). ‘Eyesight’ is narrower, referring specifically to how well your eyes function. ‘Vision’ is slightly more formal and can stretch to mental imagery or foresight (‘a leader with vision’). ‘Visual acuity’ is a medical/technical term for the sharpness of vision, typically measured on an eye chart. For daily conversation about needing glasses or reading small print, ‘eyesight’ and ‘sight’ are the natural choices: ‘My eyesight is getting worse’ sounds more natural than ‘My visual acuity is declining.’

sight ↗vision ↗visual acuity

Common collocations

Phrases

  • good eyesight
  • poor eyesight
  • normal eyesight
  • lose your eyesight
  • test someone's eyesight

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

A compound of ‘eye’ (from Old English ēage, related to Latin oculus) and ‘sight’ (from Old English siht, related to ‘see’). The word ‘eyesight’ has been used in English since the Middle English period, combining two very old words into a single term for the sense of vision.