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.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.