What does "look" mean?
The action of looking; an attempt to see.
Look
/lʊk/ intj, name, noun, verb, slang
intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The action of looking; an attempt to see.
- Grammar: look is listed as intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: aspect, expression, admire, aesthetic.
- Useful contrasts: abandon, avert, disappear.
- Usage evidence: If you look at the lyrics, they don't really mean much.
How to use "look"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "look" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "look" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "look" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "look" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "look" is acting as intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "aspect" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "look", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The action of looking; an attempt to see.
"Let’s have a look under the hood of the car."
- 2 the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually; look wordnet
- 3 Physical appearance, visual impression. often, plural
"She got her mother’s looks."
- 4 physical appearance wordnet
- 5 A facial expression.
"He gave me a dirty look."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 the feelings expressed on a person's face wordnet
- 7 the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people wordnet
Verb
- 1 To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes.; As an intransitive verb, often with "at". intransitive
"They kept looking at me."
- 2 to physically appear a certain way to another individual or group wordnet
- 3 To try to see, to pay attention to with one’s eyes.; As a transitive verb, often in the imperative; chiefly takes relative clause as direct object. colloquial, transitive
"Look what you did to him!"
- 4 have faith or confidence in wordnet
- 5 To appear, to seem.
"It looks as if it’s going to rain soon. or It looks like it’s going to rain soon. or It looks like rain [is coming]."
Show 20 more definitions
- 6 look forward to the probable occurrence of wordnet
- 7 To give an appearance of being. copulative
"That painting looks nice."
- 8 convey by one's expression wordnet
- 9 To search for, to try to find. intransitive, often
- 10 perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards; look wordnet
- 11 To face or present a view.
"The hotel looks over the valleys of the Hindu Kush."
- 12 give a certain impression of being something or having a certain aspect wordnet
- 13 To expect or anticipate.
"I look to each hour for my lover’s arrival."
- 14 search or seek wordnet
- 15 To express or manifest by a look. transitive
"Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again,"
- 16 take charge of or deal with wordnet
- 17 To make sure of, to see to. often, transitive
""Look to it yourself, father," answered Telemachus, "for they say you are the wisest counsellor in the world, and that there is no other mortal man who can compare with you.[…]"
- 18 accord in appearance with wordnet
- 19 To show oneself in looking. dated, figuratively, sometimes
"Look out of the window [i.e. lean out] while I speak to you."
- 20 be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to another reference point; be opposite to wordnet
- 21 To check, to make sure (of something). archaic, dialectal, transitive
"Finding it was like to overblow, we took in our Sprit-ſail, and ſtood by to hand the Fore-ſail; but making foul Weather, we look'd the Guns were all faſt, and handed the Miſſen."
- 22 To look at; to turn the eyes toward. obsolete, transitive
"Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.[…]She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now,[…]."
- 23 To seek; to search for. obsolete, transitive
"c. 1552–1599, Edmund Spenser, unidentified sonnet, Looking my love, I go from place to place, Like a young fawn that late hath lost the hind; And seek each where, where last I saw her face, Whose image yet I carry fresh in mind."
- 24 To influence, overawe, or subdue by looks or presence. obsolete, transitive
"to look down opposition"
- 25 To look at a pitch as a batter without swinging at it.
"The fastball caught him looking."
Intj
- 1 Pay attention.
"Look, I'm going to explain what to do, so you have to listen closely."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname transferred from the given name.
- 2 A surname from Chinese.
Example
"If you look at the lyrics, they don't really mean much."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "look"?
Common synonyms include: aspect, expression, admire, aesthetic, agaze, air.
How do you use "look" in a sentence?
If you look at the lyrics, they don't really mean much.
How do you pronounce "look"?
Pronounced /lʊk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English loken, lokien, from Old English lōcian, from Proto-West Germanic *lōkōn. Further origin unknown, no certain cognates outside Germanic. Cognate with Scots luke, luik, leuk (“to look, see”), West Frisian lôkje, loaitsje (“to look”), Dutch loeken (“to look”), German Low German löken. Likely also related to German lugen (“to peek”), Alemannic German luege (“to look”), Yiddish לוגן (lugn). Possibly related to Sanskrit लोक् (lok, “to see, behold”) (from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“light”) in the sense of "illuminating" (cf. related word रुच् (ruc) "to shine, illuminate")).
Etymology 2
From Luke (“a given name”).
Etymology 3
From Cantonese 陸 /陆 (luk⁶, “a surname”).