Sight, site and cite are homophones: they sound the same (SITE) but they have different spellings and meanings.
- Sight: seeing, or something you see. What a lovely sight!
- Site: a place. The building site is noisy.
- Cite: to mention a source or example. Cite your sources.
Sight: seeing
Sight is the sense of seeing, or something you see.
My grandpa has poor sight and wears glasses.
The fireworks were a wonderful sight.
I caught sight of a deer in the woods.
The kitten was out of sight.
It can also be a verb: We sighted a whale. (We saw it.)
Site: a place
Site is a place where something is, or where something happens. It is also short for website.
The school is building a new site for the playground.
We visited a famous site in the old town.
I found the answer on a good site.
This is the site of the old castle.
Cite: mention as proof
Cite means to name a source, a book or an example to support what you say. It is a school and writing word.
Please cite the book you used.
Mia cited a website in her report.
The teacher asked us to cite three examples.
Don't forget to cite your sources.
Easy way to tell them apart
Ask: is it seeing, a place, or a source?
- Seeing? Use sight.
- A place? Use site.
- A source or a quote? Use cite.
💡 The OddLingo Trick
- Sight is about the eyes: think of eyesight and sightseeing.
- Site is a spot. Think of a building site or a website.
- Cite starts like citation, the little note at the end of a report.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
Sightseeing, not siteseeing.
❌ We went siteseeing in Paris.
✅ We went sightseeing in Paris. (seeing the sights)
A building place is a site.
❌ The building sight was busy.
✅ The building site was busy.
Cite is for sources.
❌ Please site your sources.
✅ Please cite your sources.
📌 Good to know
- Sight also appears in eyesight, insight and sightseeing.
- Site is short for website in everyday talk: a news site.
- Cite is also a legal word: a person can be cited to appear in court.
- In a report, you cite the site you used.
💬 In a Conversation
Mia: For my report, can I use this site?
Sam: Yes, but you must cite it.
Mia: Cite, not sight?
Sam: Cite. You will see why when it's marked.
Mia: A lovely sight.