A ‘sight word’ is a vocabulary item—

Correct Answer: that the reader recognizes and finds meaningful on sight without a complicated analysis

Explanation:

In reading instruction and literacy development, a sight word refers to any word that a reader recognizes immediately, automatically, and effortlessly upon seeing it, without needing to break it down, sound it out phonetically, or perform any complicated decoding analysis.

Key aspects of sight words include:

1. Automaticity: The reader instantly retrieves the word from memory upon visual contact, allowing for faster reading speed and improved reading fluency.

2. Cognitive Efficiency: Because no cognitive effort is spent on decoding the individual letters or sounds of a sight word, the reader can focus their mental energy on understanding the overall context and meaning of the text.

3. Common Examples: Many high-frequency words (such as "the", "and", "is", "was") become sight words for proficient readers through repeated exposure.

Therefore, the correct option defining a sight word is "that the reader recognizes and finds meaningful on sight without a complicated analysis".