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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.
Examples of cite in a Sentence
Louis Jacobson, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
But critics - citing how the first two people executed shook for several minutes - say the method needs more scrutiny, particularly if other states follow Alabama's path and adopt the new execution method.
—CBS News, 21 Nov. 2024
Kassi Socha, Analyst at Gartner, cites that nearly one-third of consumers are seeking the best price, promotion, and selection between July and October.
—Andrea Wasserman, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
He has so far been denied bail twice, by two different judges who have cited concerns of potential witness tampering.
—Liam Quinn, People.com, 20 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cite 
Dictionary Entries Near cite
Cite this Entry
“Cite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cite. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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cite
transitive verbLatin citare to rouse, call on, summon
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