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Definition
catch sight of- She tries to descry purpose in the disasters of a purposeless world.
- I never saw him afterwards, but I sometimes imagine that I descry a faint reflection of him in John Browdie.Dickens, Charles -- The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
- We see the ground whereon these woes do lie,
But the true ground of all these piteous woes
We cannot without circumstance descry.William Shakespeare -- Romeo and Juliet - And can you descry no difference between his letters and those addressed to other people?Dickens, Charles -- Barnaby Rudge - A Tale Of The Riots Of 'Eighty
- In the faint light, too, we could descry dim galloping forms half hidden by wreaths of sand.Haggard, Rider H. -- King Solomon's Mines
- He could descry objects enough at such times, but none correctly.Dickens, Charles -- The Old Curiosity Shop
- I shall perceive each object less distinctly, but I shall descry the principal facts with more certainty.Alexis de Toqueville -- Democracy In America, Volume 1
- Next she descried boot tracks the shape of which was so well-remembered that it shook her heart.Zane Grey -- The Call of the Canyon
- — Who hath descried the number of the traitors?William Shakespeare -- The Life and Death of King Richard III
- To the east the outflung arm of the mountains marched to a sudden end, and far lands could be descried beyond them, wide and vague.J.R.R. Tolkien -- The Fellowship of the Ring
- In the flat smear of houses, he descried, or thought he did, the edge of his own on Ninth.Henry Roth -- Call It Sleep
- We are descried: they'll mock us now downright.William Shakespeare -- Love's Labour's Lost
- Near and on speedy foot; the main descry Stands on the hourly thought.William Shakespeare -- King Lear
- In the flare of the match MacPherson had descried the stable lantern hanging on the wall.Grace MacGowan Cooke -- The Power and the Glory
- At length they descried the coast of France.Voltaire -- Candide
- I then descried Mr. and Mrs. Hubble; the last-named in a decent speechless paroxysm in a corner.Charles Dickens -- Great Expectations
- He never looked back until he had almost gained the shelter of the forest; then he turned and descried two figures in the distance.Mark Twain -- The Prince and The Pauper
- The news is true, my lord: he is descried; Caesar has taken Toryne.William Shakespeare -- Antony and Cleopatra
- Shortly afterwards Miss Bates, passing near the window, descried Mr. Knightley on horse-back not far off.Jane Austen -- Emma
- A man riding in hot haste was now dimly descried at the top of a distant hill.Harriet Beecher Stowe -- Uncle Tom's Cabin
descry = understand (catch sight of)