Etymology

From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#VIEWCategory:English terms derived from Middle English#VIEW vewe, from Anglo-NormanCategory:English terms derived from Anglo-Norman#VIEW vewe, from Old FrenchCategory:English terms derived from Old French#VIEW veue f (French vue f), feminine past participle of veoir (“to see”) (French voir). Cognate with Italian vedere, as well as Portuguese and Spanish ver. Doublet of veduta and vistaCategory:English doublets#VIEW.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vjuː/, /vɪu̯/Category:English 1-syllable words#VIEWCategory:English 1-syllable words#VIEWCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#VIEW

• Audio (US):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#VIEW
• Rhymes: -uːCategory:Rhymes:English/uː#VIEWCategory:Rhymes:English/uː/1 syllable#VIEW

Noun

view (plural views)Category:English lemmas#VIEWCategory:English nouns#VIEWCategory:English countable nouns#VIEWCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#VIEWCategory:Pages with entries#VIEWCategory:Pages with 3 entries#VIEW

1. (physical) Visual perception.
   1. The act of seeing or looking at something.

      He changed seats to get a complete view of the stage.Category:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

      • 1671, John Milton, “The Fourth Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC:

        Thenceforth I thought thee worth my nearer view.

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

      • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC:
        , Book II, Chapter XXI

        Objects near our view are apt to be thought greater than those of a larger size are more remote.

      • 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:

        But Richmond […] appeared to lose himself in his own reflections. Some pickled crab, which he had not touched, had been removed with a damson pie; and his sister saw, peeping around the massive silver epergne that almost obscured him from her view, that he had eaten no more than a spoonful of that either.

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

   2. The range of vision.

      Synonyms: sight, eyeshot

      If there are any rabbits in this park, they keep carefully out of our view.Category:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

      • 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

        The walls of Pluto's palace are in view.

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

   3. Something to look at, such as scenery.

      Synonym: vista

      My flat has a view of a junkyard.Category:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

      the view from a windowCategory:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

      • 1799, Thomas Campbell, The Pleasures of Hope:

        'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view.

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

        Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
      • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 20:

        "Well, there don't seem to be any what you might call views about here," he agreed. […] "I've been through the Willawee Ranges forty miles west of here, and I can guarantee the views there."

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

      • 1955 July, M. D. Greville, “To the Valdres by Rail”, in Railway Magazine, page 458:

        At Bleiken (50 miles), for the first time the Randsfjord comes into view, and a very lovely view it is, of the long winding island-studded lake with wooded shores and small sandy bays.

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

   4. (InternetCategory:en:Internet#VIEW) An individual viewing of a web page or a video etc. by a user.

      That video got a million views.Category:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

      Synonyms: (of a webpage) pageview, (of a video) play

      • 2026 March 11, Chad de Guzman, “Who Is Balendra Shah, the Rapper On Track to Become Nepal’s Next Prime Minister”, in TIME‎, archived from the original on 11 March 2026:

        His other song, “Nepal Haseko,” became an anthem during last year's protests, and already has more than 10 million views on YouTube.

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

   5. (obsoleteCategory:English terms with obsolete senses#VIEW) Appearance; show; aspect.
      • c. 1648, Edmund Waller, The Night-Piece:

        [Graces] which, by the splendor of her view / Dazzled, before we never knew.

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

        Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
2. A picture, drawn or painted; a sketch.

   a fine view of Lake GeorgeCategory:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

3. An opinion, judgement, imagination, idea or belief.
   1. A mental image.

      I need more information to get a better view of the situation.Category:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

      • c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]:

        I have with exact view perused thee, Hector.

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

   3. A way of understanding something, an opinion, a theory.

      Synonyms: conclusion, mind, take; see also Thesaurus:judgement

      Your view on evolution is based on religious doctrines, not on scientific findings.

      Category:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

      • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 2, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC, book I, page 21:

        to give a right view of this mistaken part of liberty

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

      • 2019 May 30, Karen Weintraub, “Crispr gene-editing will change the way Americans eat – here's what's coming”, in The Guardian‎:

        There hasn’t been much polling data on consumer views of gene-edited foods, because they are still so new.

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

   4. A point of view.

      From my view that is a stupid proposition.Category:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

   I think I have fairly broad views on the whole.Category:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

   1. • 2025 October 14, Catherine Thorbecke, “China’s AI Dragons Must Survive ‘Involution’ to Conquer the World”, in Bloomberg‎, Bloomberg L.P.:

        “I believe deep inside everyone's heart is an underlying loneliness,” he says. Humanity longs for another species with comparable intelligence. AGI, in his view, isn’t just a profit engine but a companion on our civilizational journey.

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

   2. An intention or prospect.

      He smuggled a knife into prison with a view to using it as a weapon.Category:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

      • a. 1705, John Locke, “Of the Conduct of the Understanding”, in Posthumous Works of Mr. John Locke: […], London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], published 1706, →OCLC:

        No man ever sets himself about anything but upon some view or other which serves him for a reason for what he does

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

      • 1903, Henry Kelsall Aspinall, Birkenhead and Its Surroundings, page 116:

        With this view, they made a Guy Faux, or dummy figure of a boy, dressed in coat and cap; such as might in a poor light be mistaken for a living figure.

        Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

        Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
4. (computingCategory:en:Computing#VIEW, databasesCategory:en:Databases#VIEW) A virtual or logical table composed of the result set of a query in relational databases.
5. (computingCategory:en:Computing#VIEW, programmingCategory:en:Programming#VIEW) The part of a computer program which is visible to the user and can be interacted with
6. A wake. (Can we add an example for this sense?)Category:Requests for example sentences in English#VIEW

Verb

view (third-person singular simple present views, present participle viewing, simple past and past participle viewed)Category:English lemmas#VIEWCategory:English verbs#VIEWCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#VIEWCategory:Pages with entries#VIEWCategory:Pages with 3 entries#VIEW

1. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#VIEW) To look at.

   The video was viewed by millions of people.Category:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

   • 2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:

     Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much.

     Category:English terms with quotations#VIEW

2. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#VIEW) To regard in a stated way.

   I view it as a serious breach of trust.Category:English terms with usage examples#VIEW

See also

• see
• look
• voyeur

Anagrams

• wive

Noun

viewCategory:Middle English lemmas#VIEWCategory:Middle English nouns#VIEWCategory:Middle English entries with incorrect language header#VIEWCategory:Pages with entries#VIEWCategory:Pages with 3 entries#VIEW

1. alternative form of vewe

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from EnglishCategory:Portuguese terms borrowed from English#VIEWCategory:Portuguese unadapted borrowings from English#VIEWCategory:Portuguese terms derived from English#VIEW view.

Pronunciation

• Homophones: viu, vil (Brazil)Category:Portuguese terms with homophones#VIEW

Noun

view f (plural views)Category:Portuguese lemmas#VIEWCategory:Portuguese nouns#VIEWCategory:Portuguese countable nouns#VIEWCategory:Portuguese terms spelled with W#VIEWCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#VIEWCategory:Portuguese feminine nouns#VIEWCategory:Pages with entries#VIEWCategory:Pages with 3 entries#VIEW

1. (databasesCategory:pt:Databases#VIEW) view (logical table formed from data from physical tables)

   Synonym: visão

2. (InternetCategory:pt:Internet#VIEW) view (individual viewing of a web page or a video by a user)

   Synonym: visualização