raise one's sights



raise one's sights

Establish higher goals for oneself, as in She seemed content as a paralegal, but we thought she should raise her sights and get a law degree . This idiom uses sights in the sense of "a device on a gun or optical instrument that helps one take aim." [Mid-1900s] For the antonym, see lower one's sights.
See also: raise, sight

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Tanishatə-NEE-shəAfrican American
Yaroslavyah-rah-SLAHF (Russian)Russian, Ukrainian, Medieval Slavic
Gerardaje-RAHR-dah (Italian)Italian, Dutch
Ankita-Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali
Melchiorremel-KYOR-reItalian
LeonieLE-o-nee (German), lay-o-NEE (Dutch)German, Dutch