English idiom

in one's sights

Register · Neutral CEFR B2

Post

Figurative meaning

chosen as a target or goal that you intend to achieve or pursue

Why this phrase?

From aiming a weapon's sights at a target; figuratively means having something as a goal.

Example

“The young athlete has Olympic gold in her sights.”

Dictionary details

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

the name of the game

the central, most important aspect of a situation

climb the corporate ladder

to advance step by step through the ranks of a company

fall short

to fail to reach an expected standard, amount, or goal

go down a rabbit hole

to get lost in a long, winding, often pointless digression while researching or building something

have bigger fish to fry

To have more important matters to deal with.

pipe dream

an unrealistic hope or plan that will almost certainly never happen

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

External links

markdown