phrasal verb / idiom · neutral
set one's sights on
UK/sɛt wʌnz saɪts ɒn/US/sɛt wʌnz saɪts ɑn/set·one's·SIGHTS·on
speakingtask2
to aim for or decide to achieve something
Examples
“She set her sights on studying abroad and worked hard to get a scholarship.”
“After graduation he set his sights on a career in medicine.”
“Many young athletes set their sights on the Olympics.”
Band 8 sentence
“He set his sights on a career in renewable energy, knowing it would require further study and relocation.”
Collocations
- set one's sights on + noun/verb-ing
- set someone's sights on + something
Word family
set verbsight nountarget noun (related)
Common mistakes
set his sight on→set his sights on
set one's sights for→set one's sights on
Say it for a higher band
5want→6aim for→7+set one's sights on
Synonyms
aim for
aspire to
Easily confused
aim for
“She aimed for a promotion last year.”
Related words
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