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Meaning & use

to see someone

phrase·Everyday

Last updated

UK/tə siː ˈsʌmwʌn/
US/tə siː ˈsʌmwʌn/

Meanings

  1. phrasefixed phrase

    to meet or visit a person, often for a short time or for a particular purpose.

    Grammar: Takes a person as object: see someone. Often used with 'go to' or 'want to'.

    Patterns

    • see someone
    • go to see someone
    • want to see someone

    I'm going to see my aunt in the hospital this afternoon.

    She wants to see you before you leave.

    We saw each other briefly at the conference.

  2. phrasefixed phraseinformal

    to be having a romantic relationship with someone, often without being married.

    Grammar: Usually in the continuous form: be seeing someone. It suggests an ongoing relationship.

    Patterns

    • be seeing someone
    • start seeing someone
    • see someone regularly

    Are you seeing anyone at the moment?

    He's been seeing someone from his yoga class for a few months.

    They stopped seeing each other after the summer.

Word forms

third person singularsees someone
past tensesaw someone
past participleseen someone
-ing formseeing someone

Common combinations

go to see someone
We went to see my grandparents last weekend.
be seeing someone
Is she seeing anyone these days?
see someone about something
You should see a doctor about that cough.
see someone off
We went to the airport to see her off.

Synonyms and how they differ

visit someone
Visit is more formal and usually means going to someone's home or a place to spend time with them; see is more general and can be brief.
date someone
Date is more direct about romantic meetings; see someone is softer and can suggest a less defined relationship.
meet someone
Meet often means the first time you get to know someone, or a planned arrangement; see can mean simply spending time with them.

Word family

see verb
the base verb meaning to notice with your eyes or to meet
seeing noun
the act of meeting or visiting, as in 'a seeing-eye dog' is unrelated
sight noun
the ability to see, or something you see

Commonly confused: to see someone or look at someone?

to see someone vs look at someone

Look at means to direct your eyes toward someone; see someone usually means to meet or visit them, not just to look.

Practice

What does 'They're seeing each other' most likely mean?

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