site

1 of 2

noun

ˈsīt

Synonyms of site next

: the spatial location of an actual or planned structure or set of structures (such as a building, town, or monuments)

: a space of ground occupied or to be occupied by a building

: the place, scene, or point of an occurrence or event

a picnic site

: one or more Internet addresses at which an individual or organization provides information to others

an FTP site

especially : website

site

2 of 2

verb

sited; siting

transitive verb

: to place on a site or in position : locate

Did you know?

Cite, Sight, and Site

As homophones—words that sound alike but are distinct— cite, sight, and site are easily confused, but they have different meanings, uses, and origins.

Cite is most often encountered in the sense of "to name in a citation"—that is, a line or short section taken from a piece of writing or a speech; it may also mean "to mention as an example" or "to order to appear in a court of law." Cite is from the Latin citare, "to rouse, call on, summon," source too of citation and recite.

Most of the senses of sight are concerned with seeing. A wonderful spectacle might be described as a sight, as might the general capacity to see anything ("my sight is not as good as it once was"). Sight is also used in a number of fixed phrases, such as "out of sight, out of mind," "sight unseen," and "set one's sights on." Sight comes from Old English gesiht, meaning "the faculty or act of sight, thing seen."

Site is most often concerned with location; it is related to situate, "to locate," and situation, "relative position or combination of circumstances at a particular moment." A building site is the place where a building is, or will be, located. In contemporary English, site is frequently used as a shortened form of website, to refer to the location of a group of web pages. Site comes from Latin situs, meaning "place, position, site."

Associating citation with cite, eyesight with sight, and situate with site may be helpful in applying these correctly.

Example Sentences

Noun Hard hats must be worn on the construction site. They visited the site of their future house. The company has chosen a new site for its office building. the site of the battle Federal investigators combed through the crash site.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The company review site also reported that on average LGBTQ employees rate companies lower than other workers, with transgender employees—who face higher levels of workplace discrimination—giving the lowest ratings. —

Julia Malleck, Quartz, 1 June 2023 So far, research shows both vaccine candidates are safe, with injection site pain, muscle stiffness, and fatigue listed as the most common side effects. —

Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 1 June 2023 The long handle made getting to hard-to-reach places on our test site a simple task and makes the mop easier to use for taller cleaners. —

Andrea Wurzburger, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023 But a post on the social media sharing site TikTok has some people wondering about their safety during that dental visit. —

Claire Gillespie, Health, 1 June 2023 Government lawyers said the underlying violations included the failure to maintain and ensure the stability of a dam, violating pollution limits and not controlling erosion or sediment from mine sites. —

Ken Ward Jr., ProPublica, 1 June 2023 Follow every game: Latest NHL Scores and Schedules BEST BETS:These sportsbooks and sports betting sites stand above the rest Who do USA TODAY Sports' experts predict will win it all? Panthers in six. —

Jace Evans, USA TODAY, 1 June 2023 Detailed information about the partners supporting the establishment of the museum and its inaugural exhibition, and the curators of the exhibition, also can be found at the site. —

Lawrence Specker | Lspecker@al.com, al, 1 June 2023 Two job sites are still dealing with running water from the snowmelt, Tiffany said. —

Lacey Latch, The Arizona Republic, 31 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'site.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.