backsight
backsight noun: the rear sight of a firearm.
Noun
backsight (plural backsights)
- The rear sight of a firearm.
- Holonym: iron sights
- A measurement or reading taken back towards a point of known elevation, used to calculate the height of the surveying instrument (theodolite, transit, total station).
- A measurement of a previously shot point, used to set the angle to zero when occupying a new position.
Verb
backsight (third-person singular simple present backsights, present participle backsighting, simple past and past participle backsighted)
- To shoot a backsight.
Synonyms of backsight
Antonyms
Forms of backsight
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | backsights |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | backsights |
| present participle | backsighting |
| past participle | backsighted |
| past | backsighted |
Origin of backsight
From back + sight.
Words formed from backsight
Questions about backsight
- What does backsight mean?
- Backsight means the rear sight of a firearm.
- What part of speech is backsight?
- Backsight can be a noun or a verb.
- What is the plural of backsight?
- The plural of backsight is backsights.
Words near backsight in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: backsight (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “backsight.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/backsight. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.